Almost Lover
by Mrs. McDreamy MD
Summary: MerDer AU...Mer met Derek over 2 years ago in New York City and they had a weekend fling. What happens when he returns to Seattle and finds that when Meredith left New York she didn't leave alone? Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Song is Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy

Your fingertips across my skin  
The palm trees swaying in the wind  
Images  
You sang me Spanish lullabies  
The sweetest sadness in your eyes  
Clever trick

Well, I never want to see you unhappy  
I thought you'd want the same for me

[Chorus  
Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?  
So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do

We walked along a crowded street  
You took my hand and danced with me  
Images  
And when you left, you kissed my lips  
You told me you would never, ever forget  
These images

Well, I'd never want to see you unhappy  
I thought you'd want the same for me

[Chorus  
Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?  
So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do

I cannot go to the ocean  
I cannot drive the streets at night  
I cannot wake up in the morning  
Without you on my mind  
So you're gone and I'm haunted  
And I bet you are just fine

Did I make it that  
Easy to walk right in and out  
Of my life?

[Chorus  
Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?  
So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do

Meredith groans as she slams her hand down on her buzzing alarm. Another great dream interrupted by her alarm, by her responsibilities as a doctor, her responsibilities as a parent. She groans as she hears the tell-tale giggling of her 18 month old son. This giggle brings a smile to her face as she pushes back the covers and climbs out of her otherwise empty bed. She walks across the hallway and is instantly met by the bright blue eyes of her son.

Meredith: Good Morning, Blaine. Aren't we in a good mood this morning?

Blaine claps his hands happily as Meredith reaches down and lifts him out of the crib. She really needs to pee. She really needs to shower, but her son always comes first. Always.

She walks down the stairs with Blaine on her hip, his hands tangling in her hair.

Blaine: Mamamamamamamama

Meredith giggles as she kisses Blaine on the cheek.

Meredith: Yes, baby, I'm mama.

Meredith sighs as she pushes the door open to the kitchen. She is immediately greeted by the smell of pancakes and a bright and cheery blonde.

Izzie: Good morning.

Meredith looks Izzie up and down.

Meredith: You got some.

Izzie stares at Meredith a moment before shrugging.

Izzie: So what?

Meredith just sighs. Truth be told, Meredith wanted some. Hell, she didn't want some, she wanted a lot. She hasn't had sex since Blaine's conception. She just hasn't been able to. It felt too much like she was cheating on [ihim[/i.

[iHe[/i haunts her dreams, with his dark curly hair and his perfectly blue eyes. She closes her eyes and his husky voice reverberates throughout her soul. She only knew him for a moment, but that one moment altered her entire life.

Okay, it wasn't a moment. It was a weekend. The best weekend of her entire life. One weekend. Two days and two nights before they parted ways forever, only when she left, she wasn't alone. She wasn't alone and she didn't even know. She wasn't alone and she didn't even know his last name. She wasn't alone yet she was left all alone.

She looks at Izzie and sighs, the tiredness aching every joint of her body. Being a neurosurgical resident and a single parent is hell and she is exhausted. Keeping up with Blaine and trying to stay on the top of her game is draining her and she doesn't know how long she can keep it up.

Meredith: Iz?

Izzie turns and looks at her.

Izzie: Yeah?

Meredith: Can you watch Blaine for me so that I can take a shower before work?

Izzie smiles brightly.

Izzie: Sure.

Izzie walks towards Meredith.

Izzie: Hey, Blaine. Wanna help Aunt Izzie make pancakes?

Blaine giggles as Izzie reaches out and takes him from Meredith's arms. He really is a happy baby. Meredith couldn't ask for more. She loves him. She loves him so much. She knows that it is him that keeps her going. It is him that keeps her afloat, she just doesn't know how long it is until this system of support is no longer enough.

Meredith smiles weakly at Izzie.

Meredith: Thanks, Izz.

Izzie: No problem. Go enjoy your shower.

Meredith nods and walks back up to her bathroom. She fully intends on enjoying her shower. It seems like this is her only time to herself. Her time to think. Her time to daydream. Her time to escape. Her time to return to him and to the best two days of her life. Her time.

She inhales deeply before stepping underneath the hot stream of water. Her muscles almost instantly begin to relax and the memories come flooding back in a tidal wave that threatens to bring her to the ground. Strangely enough, it is these tidal waves that almost knock her down that keep her standing. It his the mere memory of what once was that deters her thoughts from her current solitary condition.

So, as Meredith stands underneath the stream of water in the steam-filled shower, she allows herself to travel back to a time where for once in her life she wasn't Meredith Grey, daughter or world-renown surgeon Ellis Grey, but just Meredith. She was just Meredith and he was just Derek and together they were amazingly perfect.

**I know some of you are thinking that I am crazy...and well..I am a little...but honestly...Alone and Wish You Were Here are both completed...Tainted Love is written well ahead of where it is here...so Bend It Like Shepherd is the only one that you guys actually get as I write it...up until now...there are a couple of more updates of this one that are finished...but I just started this fic the day before yesterday...I have two more fics as well...and I will be posting them here shortly as well...they are all in various places...so yeah...hope you like it..**

**-Marci**


	2. Chapter 2

**This part is in italics because it is a flashback...the next two updates will be the same...**

_ Meredith is lost. She is completely lost in this huge ass city with all of these rude ass people. She is supposed to meet her mother for dinner in five minutes and she can't find the damn restaurant. Why do people think that nooks are so damn cute? Meredith hates nooks. Nooks can kiss her ass._

_Okay. So, she is a bit nervous. Okay. She is really really nervous. Her mother, the great Ellis Grey, hates it when people are late and in 4 minutes and 28 seconds Meredith will be late._

_She looks down at her phone checking the time once again as she hurries down the almost empty street. It is odd that it is empty. She didn't think that anything in New York City would be empty. Just as she reaches down to return her phone to her purse, she bumps into something, rather someone and her purse falls to the ground, spilling its contents on the ground._

_Meredith: Shit. I'm sorry. Shit._

_Meredith bends down and begins to shove the items back into her purse. A masculine hand comes into her peripheral view._

_Voice: Let me help._

_Meredith glances up and she meets a pair of bright blue eyes and she feels her breath hitch in her throat._

_Meredith: Th..thanks._

_All of the sudden the stranger starts chuckling. She glances down to see what he is laughing at and she immediately blushes. Gripped in the handsome strangers hand are several condoms._

_Meredith finds herself flustered. She doesn't know what to say. She could do the whole Carrie Bradshaw thing and defend her sexuality. She is in New York City after all, and maybe this stranger could be her Mr. Big for the weekend._

_Before Meredith can think of the right thing to say, the handsome stranger sticks out his hand._

_Voice: I'm Derek._

_Meredith looks at him tentatively before reaching out her hand to shake his. His large hand engulfs her small one, but his hands aren't rough. They are, well, they are perfect. She finds herself thinking about the exchange of their epithelials and other things she would like to exchange with him._

_She clears her throat before finally finding her voice._

_Meredith: Hello, Derek. I'm Meredith and I'm late._

_Meredith shoves the remainder of the contents back into her purse. Everything but the condoms that Derek still has in his grip. Derek sticks his hand that is holding them out towards her._

_Derek: Here you go._

_Meredith blushes furiously as she reaches out and takes them from his hand. Her fingers graze his lightly._

_Meredith: Thanks._

_Meredith looks around as she tries to figure out where in the hell she is, and where she needs to go._

_Derek: Lost?_

_Meredith sighs._

_Meredith: Is it that obvious?_

_Derek chuckles. He has a warm chuckle. It's not fake. It originates in the bottom of his stomach and works its way up through his throat and vocal cords. She can tell that he only chuckles like that when he is really happy. She wonders how many different chuckles he has. So far she has heard two._

_Derek: Just a little. Not from New York?_

_Meredith: Never even been here._

_Derek arches his eyebrow._

_Derek: Really now?_

_Meredith: Seriously._

_Derek leans in closer to her. She can smell his expensive aftershave. Just the perfect amount. She can only smell it when he is close, so that it doesn't overpower her sense of smell._

_Derek: Well then, I think you may need a tour._

_Meredith giggles._

_Meredith: You think so?_

_Derek: I know so._

_Meredith: Full of yourself much?_

_Derek: Only if that turns you on._

_Meredith bites down on her bottom lip as she stares at him from under her lashes. Suddenly she remembers her dreaded dinner plans._

_Meredith: Shit! I'm going to be late._

_She starts to panic. She looks around frantically trying to figure out which way to go. Derek places his hand on her elbow._

_Derek: Where is it that you are needing to go?_

_Before Meredith can answer, her cell phone rings. She pulls it out of her purse and looks at the screen. She groans lowly before answering it._

_Meredith: Hello? Oh. Okay. No. I understand. It's okay. I get it. Bye._

_Meredith shuts her phone and breathes a sigh of relief. Her mother has just cancelled on her. Nothing new. Meredith should be upset, but she's not. She is used to this. She is used to being placed on the backburner to the surgical career of her mother. She doesn't even know why she bothered to come to New York. She glances at Derek. She might as well have fun, right?_

_Meredith: Are you hungry?_

_Derek arches his eyebrow._

_Derek: I thought you had plans._

_Meredith: Well, there has been a change of plans. So, hungry?_

_Derek smiles at Meredith as he tilts his head to the side._

_Derek: Sure._

_Derek instinctively reaches down and grabs Meredith's hand and she doesn't protest. She tells him the name of the restaurant and they head down the street, talking and laughing the entire time._

_There is an instant connection, a covalent bond being formed in which their stability depends on the bond they are forming with the other. A bond that neither realizes is developing. A bond that neither time not distance will be able to break. A bond that will be cemented in a way that neither could have ever imagined._


	3. Chapter 3

_Meredith stares at the man sitting across from her. He is just so…dreamy. His eyes and dark hair could grace the screen. She is sure that tons of teen girls and young women would drool over him. She sure as hell is. His voice interrupts her thoughts._

_Derek: How in the hell do you eat so much?_

_Meredith giggles as she shrugs her shoulders._

_Meredith: It is just one of my many talents._

_Derek arches his eyebrow as he looks at her._

_Derek: Am I going to find out about any of your other talents?_

_Meredith smiles seductively at him as she bites down on her bottom lip._

_Meredith: Maybe._

_Derek smirks._

_Derek: Just maybe?_

_Meredith returns his smirk._

_Meredith: Maybe if you are good._

_Derek leans across the table so that he is closer to her. His voice is low and husky when he speaks._

_Derek: But I want to be bad._

_Derek voice sends chills down Meredith's spine and causes her skin to erupt in goosebumps._

_Meredith: Are you insinuating something?_

_Derek: Do you want me to be insinuating something?_

_Meredith arches her eyebrow at him._

_Meredith: Maybe._

_Derek: Well, then maybe I'm insinuating something._

_Meredith giggles, an angelic sound to Derek's ears._

_Meredith: You have quite a large ego._

_Derek leans back at her an smirks._

_Derek: That is not the only part of me that is quite large._

_Meredith's mouth falls slightly agape as she stares at him. She shuts her mouth and smirks at him._

_Meredith: I may just have to ask you to prove that._

_Derek chuckles._

_Derek: That won't be a problem. Although, I don't think a restaurant is the place for that._

_Derek looks at her empty plate before looking back up at her._

_Derek: Are you finished?_

_Meredith: I haven't had dessert yet._

_Derek's mouth falls slightly agape._

_Derek: You are still hungry?_

_Meredith: I always make room for cheesecake._

_Meredith stares at him for a moment before speaking again._

_Meredith: Why are you in such a hurry?_

_Derek: I am just eager to see how I measure up._

_Derek wiggles his eyebrows at Meredith and she giggles as the waiter comes to their table._

_Waiter: Would you like dessert?_

_Before Meredith can respond, Derek answers._

_Derek: We would like the strawberry cheesecake to go._

_Waiter: Would you like a single piece? Or two?_

_Derek: Just bring us a whole one….and the check._

_Meredith stares open-mouthed at Derek as the waiter walks away. She glares at him through slanted eyes, pointing a finger in his direction._

_Meredith: You think you are getting some, don't you? Pretty sure of yourself, eh?_

_Derek: Am I? Am I 'getting some' as you put it?_

_Meredith: Probably. But that isn't the point._

_Derek chuckles as he leans back in the chair._

_Derek: Then what is the point, Mer?_

_A shortened version of her name just rolls off of his lips and sounds so natural. No one has ever called her Mer. Not since her father. She finds herself flustered._

_Meredith: The point is…the point it…you…the point is that you can't rush a girl…you just can't…it's like a rule or something…no rushing the girl…or whatever…_

_Derek chuckles._

_Derek: You do like rambling, don't you?_

_Meredith blushes slightly._

_Meredith: Do you have a problem with my rambling?_

_Derek leans forward on his elbows. He reaches across and grabs her hand. He rubs circles in her palm with his thumb._

_Derek: I adore your rambling. Almost as much as I adore your giggle or your tiny ineffectual fists._

_Meredith blushes slightly._

_Meredith: But you don't even know me._

_Derek: I feel like I've known you for forever._

_Meredith giggles._

_Meredith: That was cheesy._

_Derek chuckles before looking at her, a serious expression in his eyes._

_Derek: Seriously. You intrigue me…there is just something about you…_

_Meredith leans further forward._

_Meredith: Derek?_

_Derek: Hmm?_

_Meredith: You don't have to work so hard. I knew from the moment you handed me my condoms that I wanted you to be the one to wear them._

_Derek's mouth falls slightly agape as the waiter approaches with their cheesecake and the bill. Derek hands the waiter a hundred dollar bill as he quickly gets to his feet._

_Derek: Keep the change._

_The waiter finds himself flustered at him extreme tip, but Derek doesn't notice. He reaches his hand out to Meredith._

_Derek: Come on._

_Meredith: Where are we going?_

_Derek: Your place or mine?_

_Meredith pauses for a minute._

_Meredith: My hotel room._

_Meredith follows Derek out of the restaurant and back out into the New York night. Meredith is ready to begin her tour of New York City, starting with an extensive and up close and personal tour of one of its outstanding citizens._

**Due to the fact that I have recently been banned from posting on another site because of the content of BILS, the next update for this fic will probably be posted tonight. There is one more update until this fic is caught up. The others will be updated more frequently and new ones will be added until they are all caught up. I'm really sorry to all of my fans who are no longer able to read my fics at the other site, but I stand by my writing. Thank you all for your comments. **

**-marci**


	4. Chapter 4

**The song in this Chapter is John Mayer's _Your Body is a Wonderland_. It will be in bold italics. Flashback is in italics. **

Meredith leans back against the cool tiles of the shower before slowly sliding down to the floor. She pulls her knees into her chest, her razor still gripped in her hand as the barrage of memories continue to pound down on her even harder than the hot water.

_Derek pushes her against the door to her hotel room as she searches blindly for her keycard. She giggles as he nuzzles into her neck, his whiskers tickling her in a way that causes a certain warmth to spread throughout her body._

_Derek: Mer.._

_Her name rolls off of his tongue as a guttural growl that is full of desire. Meredith finally grasps the flimsy piece of plastic._

_Meredith: Got it._

_Derek(in a low growl): Thank God._

_Meredith's infectious giggle dissipates through the hallway as Derek takes the card from her hand and quickly unlocks the door. Meredith thinks that things will move fast. That this will be a quick ride. But she was wrong. She was so wrong._

_**We got the afternoon  
You got this room for two  
One thing I've left to do  
Discover me  
Discovering you**_

_Derek grabs her hand and gently leads her towards the bed. He turns to face her, running his finger slowly over the soft contours of her face. His eyes are full of desire and something else that she can't really place. Something that tells her that this isn't just about sex. This is about him getting to know her. This is about him discovering her. This is about her discovering him. This is not just a one night stand. This is an adventure. This is [ithe[/i adventure of a lifetime._

_**One mile to every inch of  
Your skin like porcelain  
One pair of candy lips and  
Your bubblegum tongue**_

_He runs his fingers over the exposed skin of her collarbone, sending chills down her spine, all the while maintaining intense eye contact. He takes a small step towards her so that their bodies are now pushed together. Their hot breath reverberates off of the face of the other, mixing in the air before spreading throughout the rest of the room._

_Meredith runs her hand up and down Derek's well-sculpted back, wanting to memorize every myomere of his being, every muscle fiber that constitutes what is Derek. She inhales deeply, breathing in his masculine, unique scent. It is a scent that she has never smelled before. It is a scent that will forever be associated with the man she only knows as Derek._

_Derek hooks his thumbs underneath the straps of her dress, taking the time to caress her skin before he slowly pulls the straps off of her shoulders. His hands roam the newly exposed territory. They run softly over her clavicle, relishing in the feeling of the hard bone underneath her smooth skin._

_And that is when he does it. That is when he finally leans in and brushes his lips across her. He immediately tastes her cherry lip gloss and notices the softness of her lips against his. They are so soft and so feminine. He takes a moment to enjoy just touching her lips with his before he protrudes his tongue and runs it slowly over her bottom lip, begging for entrance into her mouth. She sighs as she acquiesces and opens her mouth slightly. Derek slowly inserts his tongue into her mouth, not feeling rushed and wanting to take his time. Wanting to take his time because right now, in this moment, in her room, with this woman, he feels as if time has stalled and he has forever to taste her, to touch her, to fall in love with her._

_**'Cause if you want love  
We'll make it  
Swimming a deep sea  
Of blankets  
Take all your big plans  
And break 'em  
This is bound to be a while**_

_Their tongues clash lazily as their taste buds rub against those of the other. Derek moves his hands to her hips and pulls her body even closer to his. She can feel his pectoral muscles against her breasts. She can feel his erection against her stomach. She can feel his heart beating against hers._

_Meredith slowly runs her hands up his chest before moving them to his hair. She slowly runs her fingers through his thick locks of hair, her nails brushing against his scalp. She then moves back to his chest, where she then moves them down to the hem of his sweater. She tugs of the bottom, causing Derek to break the contact with her lips._

_He runs his finger along her bottom lip as she moves her hands up under his sweater and begins to work it up. He only breaks the contact with her when it is time to pull the sweater over his head, but even then his thoughts are concentrated on her touch and maintaining that physical contact. _

_**Your body Is a wonderland  
Your body is a wonder (I'll use my hands)  
Your body Is a wonderland**_

_Derek lightly brushes his fingertips across Meredith's skin before beginning to push her dress down. His movements are slow and deliberate, revealing only small amounts of her body at a time. His eyes drink her in and his hands continue to explore her, continue to memorize her, continue to make love to her._

_Derek's breath audibly hitches in his throat as her breasts are revealed. That is when the insuppressible to need to lick her, to taste her, to kiss her body takes over. He begins with a soft kiss to her lips. He trails a constant trail from her mouth, to the corner of her mouth, along her jaw line, down the column of her neck, along her collarbone, and down her chest. He explores the crevice in between her breasts before moving to one and lavishing it with his tender attention._

_He places his hot, wet mouth over her hard nipple. He slowly runs his tongue over it before he begins to suck, at first gently, but then he nips and pulls, eliciting a gasp from Meredith. She fists his hair as he continues to move his lips downward as he slowly reveals more of her milky skin._

_Derek (with his lips against her skin): You taste so good._

_Meredith cranes her head back as he reaches her lower abdomen, an especially sensitive spot of hers. She moans as her dress falls around her ankles and Derek's tongue runs lightly under the top of her thong._

_He begins to move back up her body as she steps out of her dress. When he is back in a standing position, Meredith begins to work the buttons of his shirt. She makes sure to brush her fingers against the underlying skin as she slowly begins to reveal Derek's chiseled chest._

_Meanwhile, Derek runs his thumb over Meredith's temple before reaching up and releasing her hair from its confines. Immediately the scent of some flower fills the air around him and he begins to feel slightly dizzy as his senses are overwhelmed. He is swimming in Meredith. He is drowning in Meredith. He is drowning and he has never felt more alive. _

_**Something 'bout the way the hair falls in your face  
I love the shape you take when crawling towards the pillowcase  
You tell me where to go and  
Though I might leave to find it  
I'll never let your head hit the bed  
Without my hand behind it**_

_Meredith isn't sure how long it takes. It doesn't matter how long it takes, because in that room, with that man, time doesn't exist. The only two things that exist are Meredith and Derek._

_Meredith finally pushes Derek's shirt open and now it her turn. It is her turn to lick him, to kiss him, to taste him and she relishes in it. She takes the same path that he takes down his neck and across his collarbone all while her hands continuously roam over his back. Derek watches her with hooded eyes, his erection throbbing in pain, but none of that mattering. None of that mattering because at that moment there is a goddess lavishing in his body and it makes the pain feel so good._

_Meredith reaches the trail of hair that begins below Derek's navel and disappears under his jeans. She runs her tongue down this erogenous zone and feels his body shiver under her tongue. He fists her hair as a low groan escapes the barrier of his lips._

_Derek (in a husky voice): Mer…_

_Meredith looks up at him from her position and he feels his already steel erection harden even more. He doesn't think he has ever been this hard._

_Derek: I need you._

_Meredith smiles seductively up at him before rising up to meet him. She maintains eye contact with him as she slowly and tantalizing unbuckles and removes his belt, jerking his body this way and that as she does so. She leans in close to him as she unbuttons his jeans._

_Meredith (in a seductive voice): Then take me, Derek. Take me because you can have me. You can have all of me._

_**you want love?  
We'll make it  
Swimming a deep sea  
Of blankets  
Take all your big plans  
And break 'em  
This is bound to be a while**_

_Meredith doesn't wait for Derek to make a move before she moves back towards the bed. She stops before the end of the bed, her eyes never leaving his, and she slowly pulls her thong down. She stands at the end of the bed and the moonlight shines across her milky body, causing Derek's breath to hitch in his throat._

_He watches her slowly crawl back on the bed, his eyes never leaving hers. Once she reaches the pillows she lays down, her hair sprawling out behind her head. She opens her legs, inviting him to join her in bed. Inviting him to join her in body. Inviting him to join her in soul._

_He reaches the bed in two steps and removes his jeans, shoes, and socks in what appears to be a fluid movement. He stands there for a moment and they drink in the sight of the other. They feel a thirst they didn't even know they had slowly being quenched as their only needed nourishment is the other._

_Derek places his palms on the edge of the bed and slowly begins to crawl up on body. His naked skin rubbing up against and melting into hers. Even before he enters her, even before their bodies are connected on a physical and spiritual level, they are becoming one. Their souls are already crossing the boundaries of their bodies and mixing in a frenzy of passion, need, desire, and unknown love._

_He runs his hands slowly up her legs and sides as his eyes finally peer straight down into hers. He brings his thumb up to her face and caresses her lips softly before replacing his thumb with his lips._

_As Derek tears his lips away from Meredith he rests his forehead against hers._

_Derek (in a tender, yet husky voice): Are you ready?_

_Meredith bites down on her lip as she reaches up and runs her fingers through his hair, pulling his lips down to hers in a brief kiss._

_Meredith: I've been waiting for you for…forever._

_Derek smiles warmly at her as he position himself over her opening. They look deep into each other's eyes, into each other's souls as he slowly enters her, each relishing in the feeling of finally being physically connected. Each watching the transformation in the other's soul as this connection occurs._

_**Your body Is a wonderland  
Your body is a wonder (I'll use my hands)  
Your body Is a wonderland**_

_Derek grabs Meredith's hands from his neck and laces his fingers with hers. She wraps her legs around his waist, granting him even deeper penetration into her body, into her soul._

_Derek begins to thrust slowly in and out as he pampers her neck, shoulders, and lips with kisses. He relishes in the feeling of her hot, slick walls surrounding him. He feels more at home here, inside of her, in her arms, than he has ever felt anywhere before._

_Meredith arches her back up into him and off of the bed as his thrusts increase in tempo. He fills her in a way that she has never experienced before. It isn't about sex. It is about for the first time in her life, she doesn't feel empty. She doesn't feel alone. She doesn't feel incomplete._

_The sounds of their ragged breathing and low guttural moans echo through the otherwise still room. The bed squeaks lightly under their weight, but that sound is insignificant to them. The bed doesn't exist. They are floating. They are floating in an ethereal realm of the gods where things like bodies don't exist, because right now, in these moments, their bodies are not barriers to their connection._

_**Damn baby  
You frustrate me  
I know you're mine all mine all mine  
But you look so good it hurts sometimes**_

_Derek feels Meredith's body begin to tremble beneath him as her walls begin to tighten just as he feels himself being pushed over the edge. They are going to come together. They are going to come together and that has never happened to either of them before._

_Meredith pulls Derek even closer to her as they fall into blissful oblivion together, the beads of sweat dripping from their bodies causing them both to feel the frenzied heat of their passion._

_Derek collapses on top of Meredith, resting his forehead against hers as he tries to recover his breath. He stares down into her sated eyes as his hands continue to roam her sweat covered body while her hands continue to run up and down his back._

_Derek rolls over and pulls Meredith with him. She smiles lazily at him before resting her head on his chest. They both drift off into a peaceful slumber as they hold onto each other through the night. Neither realizing the repercussions of the night. Neither realizing the lasting connection they have formed is already starting to be cemented . Neither daring to think about the emptiness and the coldness that the future will bring, but both relishing in the warmth that is provided by the other, both externally and internally._

_**Your body Is a wonderland  
Your body is a wonder (I'll use my hands)  
Your body Is a wonderland  
Your body is a wonderland**_

Meredith is jolted from her trip down memory lane by a pounding on the bathroom door.

Izzie: Meredith! You better hurry, you don't want to be late! Remember, the new Head of Neurosurgery is going to be in later!

Meredith groans as she pushes herself to her feet. How could she have forgotten about the new Head of Neurosurgery? He is supposed to be some hot shot from New York, probably some pompous ass.

Meredith: Coming!

She has no idea just how wrong she is.

**Okay...you guys are now caught up on this fic. I will try to write an update this weekend. I'm starting to feel better about the whole situation that I talked about before...or maybe on other fics...but yeah...Thanks for all of your comments. **

**-Marci**


	5. Chapter 5

Derek runs his fingers through his hair as he stands outside the prominent hospital. He looks up at the large lettering: SEATTLE GRACE HOSPITAL. He stands there as the people around him move. He feels as if he is in one of those movies where the people continue to move around the lone person standing still. This is the way Derek has felt for the past twenty-seven months. Twenty-seven long, horrible months. He feels stilled in a world of constant motion. He feels stuck in time. Maybe he wants to be stuck in time.

He sighs as he takes the first step towards the entrance. The sliding glass doors slide open and he enters on his new life. He needed this. A fresh start. A place away from New York. A place away from where he met _her_. A place away from where he fell in love with _her_. A place away from where he lost _her_.

He was hesitant at first to accept this offer, because as much as the memories pained him, they were the only reminder of _her_. There were the only thing that kept him alive. What if he leaves those memories behind just like he left so much of himself?

The doors close behind him and he can feel the slight gush of wind blow through his hair. This is it. This is his new beginning. His fresh start. The problem is that he doesn't want these things. He doesn't need these things. But that is just the way life is. He has to move on. It has been over two years. It has been over two years and it is time for him to finally move on.

He walks briskly towards the elevator, ignoring the stares and giggles that come from the nurses at that are gathered around the entrance, apparently congregating before their shifts begin to share in the latest gossip. He hates gossip. No, he loathes gossip.

He angrily pushes at the up button of the elevator. His jaw is clenched. He doesn't know why he is angry. Maybe it is the fact that he feel so lost and anger is his reaction. Maybe. Or perhaps it is the perky blonde who has just suddenly appeared at his side and is now staring at him. He hates perky blondes. Well, he hates any blonde that isn't _his_ blonde.

He can't help but turn his head to the side as a small head of dark curly hair invades his peripheral vision. It is then that the young child starts to giggle uncontrollably as he squirms in the blonde's arms.

Izzy: Blaine, be still, please. Mommy got called into an emergency surgery, so please be still for Aunt Izzie.

Blaine continues to giggle as he reaches up and pulls at her hair. The blonde winces in pain and Derek can't help but chuckle. His chuckle draws the attention of the little boy and the little boy turns his attention to him. Blaine notices that this isn't someone he knows and he immediately hides his face in Izzie's neck. Izzie smiles apologetically at Derek.

Izzie: Sorry, he is a bit shy.

Derek clears his throat as he nods. The boys eyes. There is just something about his eyes. They are so blue. And his nose. His nose reminds him of someone, but he just can't put his finger on it.

The young blonde sticks her hand out, but he just stares at it.

Izzie: I'm Dr. Izzie Stevens.

Derek inwardly groans. He is going to have to be working with this bubbly person. He hates bubbly. Bubbly can go to hell. The opening of the elevator saves him from having to respond as he immediately jumps on and pushes the button to the surgical floor.

Elevators. Elevators bring back so many memories. He loves elevators. Derek closes his eyes and he thinks that he can smell the lavender. He thinks that he can hear her giggle, but no, it is the giggle of the little boy.

_It is the morning after their long night together and they are alone on the elevator. Derek nuzzles his face into Meredith's freshly washed hair. It smells like a flower. A flower that has never smelled so sweet. She giggles as he pulls her ass into his growing erection and nibbles on her ear. She rubs up against him and he groans as his desire is tinged with a painful need for her. He reaches past her face and hits the emergency stop button. He knows that he shouldn't be doing this. The old Derek would never do this. But he can't help it. He can't wait. He needs her. He needs her now._

_She gasps as the elevator lunges to a stop and as he pushes her up against the wall of the elevator. Her gasps are stifled by his mouth covering hers. He reaches down into her jeans with his right hand and feels her growing wetness. She moans into his mouth with pleasure and arches her body into his._

_Meredith (breathless): If we are going to do this, we have to hurry._

_Derek just nods before dropping his pants. All thoughts of protection escape both of their minds as he quickly shoves her pants down. She violently kicks them off before he grabs her ass and lifts her off of the elevator floor. She wraps her legs around his waist and can feel the tip of his cock teasing her._

_She wraps her arms around him as she braces for the ride of her life. Derek enters her in one quick thrust. They both moan a low, throaty moan in relief. Derek allows a moment for Meredith to adjust to his length before he begins to thrust into her hard and quick._

_Each thrust elicits a scream from Meredith as she muffles her screams by biting down on his shoulder. The pain only spurns him on. It is only a matter of moments before they are both reaching the brink of pleasure. Their vision becomes cloudy as the build up begins. Derek feels her walls clenching down around him as her body begins to shudder in his arms. He can't hold back any longer and he releases into her with a low groan._

_They stay connected for a few moments as the struggle to regain their breath. His sweaty forehead rests against hers._

_Meredith (breathless): I think I love elevators._

_Derek chuckles as he leans in to plant a soft kiss on her forehead._

_Derek: Me too._

_Derek finally pulls out of her and they quickly dress before pushing the stop button back in. Luckily no one notices their flushed appearances as they step off of the elevator and head off to enjoy a now much needed breakfast._

Izzie: Isn't this your floor?

Derek jerks his head to the side as he is recalled to the present. He nods slightly before stepping off of the crowded elevator. He is immediately greeted by the Chief of Surgery. The elder man eagerly shakes Derek's hand.

Chief: It's good to have you here, Shep.

Derek forces a smile.

Derek: It's good to be here.

Chief: I was hoping that our most promising neuro resident would be here to meet you, but she got called into an emergency surgery.

Derek forces another smile.

Derek: Why don't we go into your office and you can tell me all about her?

The Chief smiles at Derek.

Chief: I think that's a good idea. Just follow me and we will get your contract signed and I will give you her file. She is one of the brightest I have seen in a while.

Derek follows the Chief into his office, having no idea whatsoever that the life that he thought he was leaving behind is about to come back and slap him in the face and surprise him in ways he never could have imagined.

**So yeah, you guys are completely caught up now, so the updates will be less frequent. Let me know what you think. :D**

**-marci**


	6. Chapter 6

**This was ready last night...but for some reason the site wouldn't let me upload the document. Hope you all enjoy and Happy Grey's Day!**

Derek sighs as he sits down at a table on the patio. It is only his first day, but he already feels as if he is missing something. Not something. Someone. He leans back in his chair and slowly examines his surroundings.

Hen he saw the file for his promising resident, he couldn't help but feel the quickening beat of his heart. Her name is Meredith. His resident's name is Meredith. He must have pissed off some higher power to earn this torture. To see a Meredith. To say and hear Meredith, but for it not to be _his_ Meredith.

His train of thought is interrupted as a tray is placed on the table across from him. He looks up and meets the eyes of his new Chief. He forces a smile.

Chief: Shep .

The Chief nods in Derek's direction as a way of greeting him. Derek returns the nod.

Derek: Chief.

Chief: How is your first day going so far?

Before Derek can respond, the sound of a giggling missed with screaming reaches his ears. He turns his head towards the source of the sound and sees the little boy from the elevator. He is running towards their table with a huge smile on his face and his arms outstretched. He looks so familiar. Like he has seen him somewhere else before.

Derek looks at the Chief, confusion etched across his face. The Chief has a huge smile on his face as he watches the little boy run towards him. The Chief turns to Derek.

Chief: That's my Godson. Meredith, Dr. Grey's son.

Derek arches his eyebrow.

Derek: I didn't know that she had children.

Chief: Yeah. She had him during her internship. It hasn't been easy for her, but she's done a hell of a job.

Just as the Chief finishes speaking, Blaine runs into his arms. The little boy erupts into a fit of giggles as the Chief picks him up. The giggle works its way directly into Derek's heart. There is something, but he just can't put his finger on it.

Blaine: Papa!

The Chief chuckles heartily.

Chief: Hey, little man. What are you doing running around the hospital by yourself?

Just then the bubbly blonde runs up to them, breathing hard. She bends over and puts her hands on her knees.

Izzie: Sorry. He just….ran away…couldn't catch him…He's really fast…

The Chief chuckles again.

Chief: He just wanted to see his Papa, right bud?

Blaine wraps his arms around the Chief's neck and plants a big kiss on his cheek.

Blaine: Papa!

Blaine begins to giggle, but his giggle is cut short by a small bout of coughing. The Chief pats his back and looks at him with a concerned expression. It is then that Blaine turns around in the Chief's lap and identical seas of blue meet.

Derek gasps at the startling resemblance. The Chief seems to notice it as well. Blaine, however, suddenly finds himself looking into the eyes of a stranger and feels the need to hide. He buries his face in the Chief's neck. The Chief chuckles.

Chief: He's shy.

Derek laughs as he leans forward in his chair.

Derek: Hello, Blaine. I'm Derek.

Blaine looks at Derek skeptically. He eyeballs him up and down, evaluating the stranger standing in front of him. That is when his eyes land on the chocolate pudding cup that remains on Derek's lunch tray. Derek follows the little boy's line of sight. He looks at the Chief and arches his eyebrow.

Derek: Can he?

Before the Chief can respond, Blaine is crawling down from his lap and running over to Derek. He stops in front of Derek and looks up at him from under long, dark lashes. This gives Derek the perfect opportunity to get a closer look at the boy. He can't deny the resemblance, but that is just a coincidence. The nose is familiar. Very familiar. He should remember, but he can't.

Derek's observation is interrupted as the little boy pulls on the fabric of his scrubs. Derek smiles at him.

Derek: Hello, Blaine.

Blaine (in a quiet voice): Hewwo.

Derek leans down so that he is closer to Blaine's height.

Derek: My name is Derek.

Blaine looks at the Chief asking permission. The Chief nods.

Blaine: Hewwo, Dewk. Bwaine.

Blaine looks at the Chief once again before looking at Derek.

Blaine: Wap?

Derek: You want in my lap?

Blaine bites down on his bottom lip, a mannerism that once again strike a chord of remembrance, before nodding. Derek chuckles before patting his leg. Blaine quickly climbs up into Derek's lap.

The Chief feels his breath taken away as he stares at the pair. They look so much alike. They look like they could be brothers. Blaine looks like he could be Derek's son.

Blaine eyeballs the pudding and Derek chuckles.

Derek: Would you like to have my pudding?

Blaine stands up in Derek's lap as he nods vigorously, his tongue subconsciously running over his lips. Derek chuckles as he opens the pudding. The little boy sits down eagerly in his lap. Derek looks up at the Chief before he begins to feed the pudding to Blaine.

Derek: So, is he at the hospital often?

Chief: Yeah. He is here when Meredith is here.

Derek jerks his head up and stares at the Chief.

Derek: What about the father?

He notices the Chief clinch his jaw.

Chief: He isn't in the picture.

Derek's mouth falls open.

Derek: What?

The Chief sighs.

Chief: This doesn't leave this table.

Derek just nods as he feeds the first spoon of the pudding to Blaine.

Chief: Well, Blaine was the result of a weekend excursion you could say. Now, I want to make this clear. Meredith isn't….she doesn't…get around, but it was right before she started her internship here.

Derek: Wait. Does the father even know?

The Chief sighs.

Chief: No. He doesn't, but it isn't for a lack of trying.

Derek just nods. Their conversation is interrupted as Blaine begins to scream loudly. He jumps down from Derek's lap and takes off running.

Blaine: MAMA!!

Derek follows the little boys trek and he hears her giggle before he sees her. He sees her bend down and accept the running boy into her arms with a smile that he knows so well. His world screeches to a halt, as the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place. His resident Meredith _is_ his Meredith. His resident Meredith is his Meredith and Blaine, Blaine is the son he never knew he had.


	7. Chapter 7

Meredith sighs as she tears the scrub cap off of her head and throws it in the trash. Four hours. She was in surgery for four hours when the patient coded. She hates losing patients. It never gets easier. She sighs as she scrubs out. A small smile makes its way across her mouth as she thinks about Blaine and the fact that she is about to meet him for lunch.

She walks out of the scrub room and is making her way down to the cafeteria when she runs into Izzie.

Meredith: Where's Blaine?

Izzie: Oh! I got paged while we were in the cafeteria. He is with the Chief out on the patio.

Meredith smiles.

Meredith: Thanks, Izz.

Izzie: No problem.

Izzie runs off and Meredith continues her journey down to the patio. She gets a page as she is walking outside. She pulls her blackberry off of her waistband and is texting when she hears it.

Blaine: MAMA!!!

Meredith looks up and she sees her son running towards her. She giggles and bends down with her arms open. He runs right into her arms and throws his arms around her neck. She doesn't notice the neurosurgeon watching her with a shocked expression as she picks her son up.

Meredith: Hey, bubs.

Blaine runs his hands over her face before planting a sloppy, wet kiss on her cheek. Meredith giggles before she attacks Blaine with kisses. His screams are mixed with giggles as she does this.

Meredith: What do you say we go sit with Papa?

Blaine claps his hands together as he smiles broadly. God, he reminds her of his father.

Blaine: Papa!!

Meredith giggles as she makes their way over to the table. She still hasn't noticed Derek as she plops down in the chair. She looks at the Chief and then back at her son.

Meredith: You haven't been giving grandpa any trouble have you??

Blaine giggles as he buries his face in Meredith's hair. Meredith runs her hand down his back as she smiles and looks at Richard.

Meredith: Are you still coming to dinner on Friday?

Richard smiles as he looks at them.

Chief: Of course. How was surgery?

Meredith sighs as she leans back in her chair.

Meredith: The patient coded as I was closing.

The Chief places his hand on her forearm.

Chief: I'm sorry, Mer.

Meredith just shrugs. She looks back at her son and that's when she sees that he has pudding on his face.

Meredith: Now, who gave you pudding??

Blaine smiles broadly and giggles as he answers.

Blaine: Dewk!

Meredith still hasn't noticed him, even though he has yet to take his now tear-filled eyes off of her. Meredith looks at her son confused.

Meredith: Dewk?? Who's Dewk?

Instead of answering, Blaine jumps down from his mother's lap and runs to a pair of legs that are clad in dark blue scrubs, a pair of legs that she didn't notice before. Blaine pulls on the material before climbing up in the person's lap. Meredith follows her sons movement. When he is finally in the person's lap, Meredith looks up and her seas of green meet oceans of blue.

Meredith gasps and clamps her hand down over her mouth. The tears immediately begin to fall. She can't speak but she can't look away. It is him. It is Derek. Blaine is in Derek's lap. Blaine is in his father's lap and by the tears in Derek's eyes, he knows. He knows. Oh God, he knows.

The Chief looks between the two, unsure of what is going on. He clears his throat, but before he can speak, a small sound escapes from Meredith.

Meredith: Derek??

Her voice is questioning, almost as if she doesn't believe that he is sitting in front of her.

Derek: Meredith.

Chief: You two know each other?

Silence.

Chief: Why didn't you tell me you knew our new Head of Neurosurgery?

Meredith finally tears her eyes away from Derek's as she looks at the Chief.

Meredith: He's the new department head?

The Chief nods, but before he can say anything, Blaine's voice cuts through the silence.

Blaine (quietly): Mama?

Meredith turns her attention to her son just in time to see him throw up all over Derek. She immediately jumps out of her seat and kneels down in front of him. She can smell Derek, even through the vomit, she can smell him.

Derek is running his hand up and down Blaine's back as he looks concernedly at him. That's when it hits the Chief.

Chief: He's your Derek.

Meredith glances at the Chief quickly before turning back to Blaine, who now has his arms outstretched towards Meredith. She stretches out her arms and he crawls over Derek and wraps his arms around her neck. She doesn't care that he is covered in vomit. She is only concerned that he is ill. She places the back of her hand on his forehead and notices that he has a fever. She looks up at Derek and notices the worried look on his face.

Meredith: Sorry…I can…I…sorry...he must have the flu…I…

Derek interrupts Meredith.

Derek: It's okay.

His eyes are begging her for answers. Something. She turns to the Chief.

Meredith: I…

Chief: Go. Go take care of him. I'll move your surgeries.

Meredith nods quickly as Blaine lays his head down on her shoulder. His eyes lock on Derek's and now he knows. Blaine has his eyes. Blaine has his hair. Blaine has Meredith's nose. That is why he looked so familiar. The little boy, his son, just stares at him.

Meredith: Thank you.

Chief: No problem. Just call and let me know how he is doing.

Meredith nods again before turning to Derek again.

Meredith: Sorry.

Before Derek can respond, she is running through the patio with Blaine clutched tightly in her arms. Derek watches her leave. He watches her walk away and that is when the tears start to fall. He allows his head to fall forward into his hands. He feels a heavy hand on his back.

Chief: You're her Derek.

Derek: I'm her Derek.

Derek sits there for a few minutes in silence, thinking about Meredith. Thinking about his son. He is overwhelmed by his emotions. He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know what to say. She is here. His Meredith is here. His Meredith is here and she has a son, their son. He finally finds his voice.

Derek: She's my Meredith.

**Thanks for all of your wonderful comments. I love comments. I'm kind of a comment whore. I have four exams next week...so there won't be any updates until after Wednesday. **

**-marci**


	8. Chapter 8

**The italics are flashbacks..**

Meredith holds her son close to her as she makes her way towards the elevator. She can't believe that he is here. She can't believe that Derek is here. After all of this time. He is here. He found her. He found them.

Oh God. He is her boss. Her ex-lover and father to her child is her new boss. This could get complicated. This could get very complicated.

Blaine wiggles in her arms and she runs her fingers through his thick, curly hair, so much like his father's.

Meredith: It's okay, baby. Momma's taking you home.

Blaine (in a soft voice): Mama.

Meredith kisses him on the head as she steps into the elevator. What is going to happen now? Does he know? The look on his face tells her that he knows. Is he mad? Oh God, what if he tries to take Blaine?

She instinctively pulls him closer to her. He still looks good. After what seems like forever, he still looks good. He still has the ability to take her breath away with a single glance. He still has the ability to make her weak in the knees with his smile and cock of the head to the side. He still has the ability to make her heart rate increase and the butterflies in her stomach swarm tumultuously.

One question is nagging Meredith's mind as she rides the elevator, a question that has been haunting her for the past 27 months. Why didn't he show up?

_Meredith sighs as she looks at the slumbering figure lying in her hotel bed. She doesn't want to let him go. This weekend has been perfect. He has been perfect. She has never had anyone treat her the way that he does. She doesn't want to leave it, but she has to._

_Suddenly, something occurs to Meredith. She grabs a pen and paper off of the nightstand and scribbles down a note. This is it. She is putting herself out there. It is up to him now. The cards are in his hands, it is his decision whether or not to fold or go all in. She has gone all in and hopes that he does the same._

Voice: Meredith?

Meredith is recalled to the present as the bubbly blonde stares at her.

Izzie: Are you okay?

Meredith shakes her head.

Meredith: No, Izzie, I'm not okay. Blaine is sick and Derek is here. I am not okay.

Izzie's mouth falls agape as she stares at Meredith.

Izzie: Derek? THE Derek?

Blaine whimpers in Meredith's arms.

Meredith: I really can't talk about this right now. I have a son to take care of.

Meredith walks out of the hospital and places Blaine in his car seat. She runs her hand over his forehead before placing a gently kiss on his warm, soft skin.

Meredith: We will be home soon, baby.

Blaine looks up at her with tear-filled eyes. He really doesn't feel well. He is usually such a happy toddler. She hates to see him sick. Meredith leans forward and kisses him again before shutting the backdoor. She glances up at the hospital and her heart stops in her chest as her breath hitches.

Standing on the bridge and looking down at her is Derek. His blue eyes boring into her soul. How long has he been watching her? He pushes himself off of the railing and begins to run down the stairs towards her. Her heart begins to beat rapidly as panic fills her blood stream.

She stands there for a moment before it hits her. She needs to get out of here. She can't do this. She can't do this right now. Her son. Their son is in the backseat. He is sick. That will be her excuse. She quickly gets into the driver's seat of her car. She sees him running towards her as she turns the ignition.

She sees the pleading in his eyes. He is pleading with her to stay, to talk to him. He is pleading with her, but he lost that right to plead when he failed to show up 27 months ago.

_Meredith looks around the crowded airport, watching for him, hoping that he shows up. She had poured her heart out to him in the letter that she left lying on her pillow and then told him where he could find her if he wanted to try to do the long distance thing. He still has an hour. Surely he will make it._

_Time continues to pass as the knot in the pit of Meredith's stomach grows. He only has ten minutes. Ten minutes until she boards. He should be here by now. If he was coming, he should be here by now. She is an idiot. She can't believe that she did this. She can't believe that she gave him her heart and he took off and ran away with it._

_She is standing in line, waiting to board the plane. She can't help but hope that he will show up in the last minute to sweep her off of her feet and take her away and they can live happily-ever-after. But he doesn't. She gets on the plan and he doesn't show up. She doesn't get her happily-ever-after._

Meredith stares at his approaching form, tears falling down her face uncontrollably. She squeezes them shut and inhales deeply before putting the car in reverse and backing out. She watches his retreating form in the rearview mirror as she drives away. She doesn't see the tears falling down his face. She doesn't hear his strangled voice call out to her. She doesn't see the pain that is killing him on the inside.

**I know this chapter was a little short...but it is very important...I hope you guys like it...let me know what you think...I appreciate all of your comments..**

**-Marci**


	9. Chapter 9

Derek leaves the Chief on the patio. He needs to get away. He needs to think. He found Meredith. He can't believe that he found her. He can't believe that he found her and her son. Their son. He has a son. He can't believe that he has a son.

He runs his hand through his hair as he leans back on the rail of the bridge. He doesn't know how to process everything. It's just so much. He wants to laugh. He wants to cry. So many different emotions and he can't sort them all out.

His eyes glance around the scene below him and that is when he sees them. Meredith is placing Blaine, his son, in the car seat. He watches their interaction. He can tell that Meredith is a great mother. Just watching her take care of him he knows that he always comes first.

Meredith shuts the back door and glances up and that is when his blue eyes meet her green orbs. He feels his heart rate increase and his breath hitches in his throat. He could swim in the waves of her green seas all day. He needs to talk to her. He needs to inhale the intoxicating scent of her hair. He needs to touch her.

He pushes himself off of the guard rail and begins to make his way down to her, down to their son. He notices the panicked look on her face and quickens his step. She opens the door to her car and gets in and he runs faster. He can't let her get away. Not again.

The glass doors slide open and his eyes meet hers once again. He reaches out to her and begs her to stay with his eyes. He takes a step forward and she reverses out of her parking spot and drives away. He feels her leave with his heart yet again. He can't believe this. He found her. He found her and they have a son. He doesn't even know what to think. He doesn't know what to do.

He runs his hand through his hair as he collapses on a nearby bench, the memories of that day 27 months ago running through his head.

_The sunlight streams into the hotel room, falling across his face and rousing him from his pleasant dream. He brings his hands to his face to wipe away the remnants of sleep that hang over his eyelids. And that is when he notices it._

_He shouldn't be able to bring his hands to his face this easily. Meredith's tiny body should be holding one of them captive. He wearily opens an eye, afraid of what he might find. His fears are answered when the space next to him is empty. He looks up at her pillow and notices a sheet of paper. He forces himself to raise up on an elbow as he glances at the note._

_**Derek,**_

_**This weekend has been amazing. Well, more than amazing. I feel so torn leaving you. I don't want to. I don't want to leave you, Derek. I have never felt the way that you make me feel. My skin has never tingled the way it does when you run your perfect fingers over it. The butterflies in my stomach have never flapped their wings as furiously as they do with just a simple look from you. I have never believed in fairy tales. I have never believed in the prince charming that saves the princess from the prison that is her life. I have never believed these things before, but Derek, you make me believe that they are possible. Being with you for one weekend has made me believe that the fairy tale is possible.**_

_**So, your choice is simple really. You can come to the airport and I will tell you my last name and my address and we can try the long distance thing, something I would only try for you. Or, I really hope you do the first one, or you could continue on with your life like this weekend never happened. I usually don't beg, but please Derek, please, pick me, choose me.**_

_**My flight leaves at 12:30pm from Gate 32. If you don't show up, I have your answer. Thank you for the best weekend of my life. Thank you for making me believe in fairy tales. Thank you for making me believe in myself.**_

_**Always yours,**_

_**-Meredith**_

_Derek looks at the clock and realizes that he only has an hour to get to the airport. He shuffles around the room quickly getting dressed. He runs out the door to catch what he already knows is the love of his life before she flies out of his life forever._

Chief: You look like you have a lot on your mind.

Derek turns to the Chief who has taken a seat next to him, his thoughts returning to the present.

Derek (sighing): Yeah.

He looks down at the crumpled note that he is holding in his hands. The Chief follows his gaze.

Chief: Why didn't you show?

Derek arches his eyebrow as he looks at his mentor.

Derek: She told you?

Chief: Of course she told me. She is like a daughter to me. I have been there through everything with her, so I know the whole story. So, why didn't you show?

Derek runs his hand through his hair as he leans back on the bench.

Derek: I tried. I tried to get to the airport, but on my way there I got in an accident. I wasn't injured, but by the time everything was taken care of it was too late. She was gone. She was gone and I had no way to find her.

Derek leans forward and places his head in his hands. He feels the hand of the Chief on his back.

Chief: You need to tell her. She thinks that you just thought she was a weekend fling and nothing more. She thinks that you chose not to show.

Derek (strangled voice): I know. I know I need to tell her. I..I…I have a son. I..

Derek breaks down and finally allows the sobs that have been building since he first saw her to overtake his body. The Chief just pats him on the back as he rides the wave of his pain.

After fifteen minutes, Derek's sobs subside and he wipes the remnants of their fresh tears away.

Chief: What time is your shift over?

Derek: Six.

Chief: Come by my office. I will give you her address.

Derek turns to the Chief, a look of gratitude on his face. He starts to speak, but the Chief hold up his hand, effectively stopping him.

Chief: If you hurt her or Blaine, I will find a way to hurt you and make it look like an accident. Is that clear?

Derek swallows the lump in his throat before shaking his head.

Chief: Good. I will see you at six.

The Chief stands up and walks away before Derek can respond.

He will fix this. He will do anything to fix this. He can't imagine not being a part of his Meredith's life. He can't imagine not being a part of his Blaine's life.

He runs his hand over his face before standing up and walking back into the hospital, ready to resume the rest of his day, the promise of seeing her at the end of the day proving to be the light at the end of a very long tunnel that is his work day.

**So...now you know why he didn't show...he got the note...but he got in an accident that prevented him from showing up...let me know what you guys think.**

**-Marci**


	10. Chapter 10

Meredith sighs as she pulls into her driveway. Blaine is crying softly in the back seat so she rushes to get out and remove him from his car seat. He clings desperately to her neck and she can feel the heat radiating from his skin, already more intense than it was when the left the hospital. She runs her hand slowly up and down his back in a feeble attempt to comfort him.

"Mommy's so sorry that you aren't feeling well, Blainey, if I could I would take it away. I would take away all of your pain." Her voice is laced with pain and unshed tears as the suffering of her son pulls sharply at the thin bundles of muscles that make up her heart.

He lifts his head from her neck before throwing up all over the front of her scrub top. He immediately starts crying. Crying from the churning in his stomach, the pain in his head, and the nasty taste in his mouth. Meredith doesn't care about the vomit that now stains the front of her scrubs as she rushes into the house.

Meredith is a doctor. She treats sick patients all the time. But this isn't juts a patient. This is her son. This is her life. This is her everything and the panic begins to rise. He's coughing. He's vomiting. His fever is rising. He is screaming at the top of his lungs. These are the thoughts that stream constantly through Meredith's mind over the next few hours.

She has managed to change into an old tank top and a pair of sweats during one of the short intervals in which Blaine was actually able to sleep. She pulls her hair up into a messy ponytail as she runs down the stairs, not wanting to leave Blaine alone for more than a few moments. Just as her foot hits the last step the doorbell rings. She sighs in frustration before glancing at the door.

Her heart stops at the figure standing there. She can read his pained expression from several feet away. She pauses momentarily as everything fades away. She is snapped back to reality by Blaine's piercing screams. She immediately runs forward and jerks open the door.

"I can't talk right now." Her voice is laced with panic as she turns and runs towards her crying son, leaving the door wide open.

The screams of his son reach his ears and he steps inside and closes the door behind him. He can hear Meredith's voice coming from the living room.

"Oh baby, your fever has gone up."

Derek takes a step towards where Meredith disappears, but she reappears before he is even half way there. She has a screaming Blaine on her shoulder and is rushing towards the door with her purse slung over her shoulder. She stops when she sees Derek and looks up at him with wide eyes.

"I thought you left," she tells him in a voice full of desperation.

Derek furrows his brow with concern as he already begins to fill the worry that is associated with parenthood.

"Is he okay?" he asks as he motions towards Blaine.

He notices that Meredith's eyes are filled with unshed tears. Tears that are the result of an immense amount of worry. His question seems to snap her out of her own little world to which she retreated when she saw that he was still standing in her house.

"No. He's not okay." Her voice is curt as she answers him briskly. How dare he ask her about her son? Sure he contributed half the DNA, but he hasn't been there. He didn't show. He didn't even care enough to show.

"Mer.." His voice is pleading as the shortening of her name comes as second nature to him.

She sticks her hand up in the hair to stop any more words from coming out of his mouth, especially her name. No one has said her name with such reverence since the last time she saw him and she can't deal with this now. She can't have this conversation now. Not when she is already an emotional wreck.

"I can't. Not right now. I just…can't. I have to go."

Meredith begins to walk past him. She is frantic. She is scared as hell. Blaine has never been this sick. He has never had a fever this high and she knows that it needs to come down. It needs to come down right now.

Derek reaches out and grabs her elbow. She looks at him quickly, trying to deny the fact that a shiver just ran from the spot where he is touching her and diffused throughout her body, providing her with a warmth that she hasn't felt since the last time he touched her twenty-seven long months ago.

"Please, Derek. I have to take him to the hospital."

He can hear the tears that are threatening to fall in her voice. He looks at her carefully and at the bright red, tear-stained face of his son.

"I'll drive you."

"No. You don't have to." She responds, hesitation in her voice.

"You shouldn't drive. You are too upset. I will drive your car and you can sit in the backseat with Blaine." There is a pleading in his voice.

Meredith wants to say no. She really wants to tell him no, but he makes a point. She would have to leave Blaine in the backseat all alone while he is feeling so terrible. Plus, she is so panicked she would probably get in an accident on the way to the hospital.

She bites down on her bottom lip and sighs in frustration.

"Fine," she says pointedly while shoving her keys forcefully into his hand.

Derek can't help but allow a small smile to curve the corner of his lip upward as he follows her out the door and to her banged up blue jeep. She is already in the backseat, trying to pry Blaine off of her neck so that she can place him in his car seat. He climbs into the front seat and has to turn the ignition a few times before the old car rumbles to life.

"He won't get in his car seat. Just go."

The sound of her voice causes him to turn back and face her. She has tears cascading down her face as she runs her fingers through Blaine's thick curls.

"It will be okay."

Meredith snaps her head in his direction.

"You don't know that. You do not know that. You have no idea what it's like. No idea." There is fire in her eyes and venom in her voice as she spits these words in his direction. She sees the hurt that reflects in his eyes, but right now, right now she doesn't give a damn about the hurt that he is feeling. He has been hurting her for the past twenty-seven months. She only cares about the pain her little boy is suffering.

Derek opens his mouth to say something, but decides that now is not the time. He puts the jeep in reverse and backs out of the drive way. He can tell that it isn't going to be easy. He can tell that he has hurt her. He just needs to explain. He needs to explain why he didn't show. He needs to tell her how he feels.

He hears Blaine coughing and turns to see him vomiting all over Meredith. His parental instinct immediately kicks in as he begins to drive a little faster.


	11. Chapter 11

Meredith pulls out her cell phone to call Richard and alert him that she is coming.

"Richard," she says in a panicked voice, "we are on our way to the hospital…Derek is driving us…We should be there in about five minutes."

Blaine begins to cry harder before throwing up all over Meredith once again. She immediately ends the call and turns her attention to her son, who is now screaming at the top of his lungs.

"It's okay, baby," Meredith whispers softly into his ear as the tears begin to fall down her own cheeks. She hates to see him like this. She hates, hates, hates it.

Derek turns into the hospital and pulls up in front of the emergency entrance.

"I will park and then meet you inside," he says as he looks back at Meredith as she is getting out.

"You don't have to," Meredith states in a somewhat curt voice.

Derek reaches back and grabs her wrist before she can escape. She quickly turns to face him, panic on her features.

"Yes, I do," he says with clenched jaw.

She has never told him explicitly that he is the father. But he knows. He knows in the marrow of his veins that Blaine is his son. He knows that just as well as the fact that Meredith is the love of his life.

Meredith jerks her wrist free from his grasp. She can see the pain in his eyes, but she doesn't care. What about her pain? What about the pain that Blaine has gone through not having a father for the first 18 months of his life?

"Whatever," she says coldly before turning and running through the doors with a crying Blaine in her arms.

Meredith is immediately met by the worried faces of what has become her family over the past two years. The Chief rushes towards her.

"Is he okay?" the Chief asks in a worried voice as he places the back of his hand on his forehead.

"No. I…I don't know. I.."

Meredith voice trails off as the tears begin to quickly fall. She reaches up and brushes them quickly away just as Derek runs through the front doors.

"Dr. Shepherd?" a confused George asks as Derek rushes to Meredith's side and looks at Blaine, concern etched on his handsome features. "What…what are you doing here?"

Everyone looks at Derek, who is looking at Meredith. Meredith sighs in resignation. They will all find out sooner or later. Might as well be sooner and coming from her.

"He is Blaine's father," she says as she motions for the desk clerk to open the doors into the emergency department.

Everyone stares at her with mouths slightly agape as Derek feels his heart jump. This is the confirmation he was looking for. He is Blaine's father. He knew before. He knew but now, now he [iknows[/i.

Meredith walks through the doors, leaving everyone standing there watching her for a moment before turning to Derek. Cristina walks up to him and points her finger in his face.

"You hurt her or Blaine, and I will KILL you and make it look like an accident," she says with venom in her voice before turning and following Meredith.

Derek sighs before running his hands through his hair. The Chief pats him on his back.

"They are all very protective of Meredith and Blaine. She has been through a lot, and they have all been there. They all think that you just didn't show," the Chief says as he attempts to offer Derek some sort of comfort.

Derek feels the tears well up in his eyes. He has missed so much. He didn't even know that this life, this amazingly perfect little life that he helped create, he didn't even know that it existed.

"We should go check on your son," the Chief says in a soft voice.

Derek just nods as he follows the Chief through the opening doors, his heart swelling just at the reference to his son. His son. His and Meredith's son. His heart feels so twisted and distorted. Swollen with the pride of having a son, but knotted with the thought of all that he has missed.

He missed the doctor's appointments, the morning sickness, the cravings, the stomach, the birth, his first look at the world, his first smile, his first laugh, his first birthday. The list goes on. He has missed so much. In twenty-seven months he has missed an entire lifetime.

He runs his hand roughly over his face as he enters the exam room. The doctor and the nurse are already there, probably because of Mer's close connection to the hospital. Blaine is screaming at the top of his lungs as a crying Meredith holds him tightly in her arms. The nurse is drawing his blood for labs and his red face and tears pulls at Derek's heartstrings.

"DEWK!!" Blaine screams as he sees Derek standing in the doorway.

Blaine is reaching out to him, begging for him to save him from the needle that is causing him so much pain. Begging him to take away his pain. Oh, what Derek wouldn't give to take away every ounce of pain that his little boy is suffering.

Derek looks tentatively at Meredith, whose mouth is open in amazement. He takes a few steps into the room, waiting for Meredith's approval. As soon as she nods consent, he closes the gap between himself the bed. He kneels down in front of Blaine as they insert the IV into his arm and secure it firmly in place.

He reaches up and grabs one of Blaine's flailing arms, his large forefinger fitting perfectly in Blaine's tiny grip. Blaine's upper lip trembles as he looks into Derek's blue eyes and leans back into his mother's warm embrace. Derek reaches up and wipes away the tears from under Blaine's matching eyes.

"It will be okay, buddy. The medicine will make you feel better, I promise," Derek says as he reaches up and brushes a few stray strands of dark curls off of Blaine's forehead, the medicine already making him drowsy.

"Everything will be okay," Derek whispers as he leans forward and kisses his dozing son on the forehead for the first time of what he hopes will be many.

And just for a moment, for a brief moment, Meredith believed it would be.

**I know this took forever...3d life has been hell and I've been working on a new board that I created with rainandflames...so yeah...and i have 3 exams this week...so i will update as soon as i can...**

**-Marci**


	12. Chapter 12

Blaine lies sleeping on the seemingly huge bed, the medicine making him feel better and causing him to fall asleep. Meredith sits on one side of the bed, her entire intern family behind her and Derek sits on the other, Richard behind him. He looks over the bed at Meredith, but she is watching Blaine closely, worry creasing her brow.

The Chief clears his throat, causing everyone to look up at him. "Well, uh, he seems to be doing better and I think that everyone but the, uh, parents should, uh, probably leave." Everyone just stares at him. "Plus, you all have work to do," he says in a more confident voice.

The interns all stare at him for a moment before nodding and leaving the room. The Chief looks at Meredith. "If you need anything, just page me," he says before exiting the room, leaving Meredith and Derek alone.

Meredith reaches up and brushes Blaine's dark curls off of his forehead. His mouth is pouty as he breathes deeply.

"He's adorable," Derek says in a soft, quiet voice as he stares at the pair of them. They are the missing pieces. They are the reason he has been feeling so empty for the past couple of years.

"Yeah," Meredith sighs, "he reminds me so much of you." Her voice is frail, almost as if she is ready to break at any moment.

"Really?" Derek asks in a hopeful voice.

Meredith finally looks away from Blaine and up at Derek. "Yeah," she says. "He has this thing that he does when he really wants something. He smiles your smile and tilts his head to the side, just like you do and his eyes light up. His eyes light up and I find it so hard to tell him no because I want his eyes to stay bright forever." She has a huge smile on her face as she recalls the images to mind.

Derek feels his eyes begin to tear up. He can't believe how much he doesn't know. How much he has missed. "Tell me more?" he implores.

"What do you want to know?" she asks as she leans back in the chair.

"Everything," he says definitively.

Meredith smiles. That was the right answer. Derek always knew the right answer. It must be part of his charm.

"He does this thing when he kisses me. It's so entirely him, but so very much you as well. He wraps his arms around my neck and smiles at me and he giggles his cute little giggle before he just smothers my face with kisses. He smothers my face with kisses, but when he does that I feel like I can breathe better than ever. And he giggles the entire time," she can't help but giggle herself as she recalls the memory.

Derek chuckles as he wipes a few stray tears off of his face. "Tell me more. Tell me about his firsts.." he begs.

Meredith smiles leaning back into the chair. "The first time he kicked, I was in the middle of a patient's brain. I think he was trying to tell me something. We might have an up and coming doctor on our hand," she says while glancing at Blaine. "The first time he cried, I was so relieved. So relieved that he had a good pair of lungs on him. So relieved that he was ok. He may have been covered in afterbirth, but he was definitely the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. The first smile. The first smile was on a Sunday afternoon. I was down on the floor on my hands and knees playing with him. He had a rattle gripped in his tiny fist and he just looked up at me and smiles. He has the perfect smile," she sighs. She runs her hand over her face, squeezing the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. Meredith leans forward, cradling her head in her hands as her elbows rest on her knees, the many emotions of the day starting to take over.

"Are you okay?" Derek asks into the silent room.

She looks up at him, fire in her eyes. "Am I okay? Am I okay? No. No, I'm not okay. Are you happy? I'm not freaking okay. You just show up. After over two years you just show up. I am not okay. My son is sick and you are here and I'm NOT okay."

Derek stares at her for a moment, struggling to find the right words. What do you say? What do you say after 27 months? Words don't be sufficient. Words seem to be empty. So, what do you say?

"Mer," he starts, but she immediately holds up a hand stopping him.

"No," she says with venom in her voice, "you do not get to turn this around. You do not get to explain. Not today. You do not get to try to make me feel better. You didn't show up. I waited. I took a later flight, hoping, praying that you would show up, and you didn't. You didn't show up and you think that after 27 months and a son that you can just show up and say a few words and everything will be okay?? Newsflash, Derek, that is not the way it works."

"Mer," he tries again.

"No! NO!" she whispers furiously as she points at him. "You do not get to say my name like that. You do not get to say my name like you know me, because you don't. You know nothing about me. You know nothing about us," she finishes with a sigh as she finally lets out a long breath. She looks at him and sees the pained expression in his eyes. His pain hurts her. His pain hurts her but he has already hurt her so much.

"Don't worry, Derek. I'm not going to keep you away from your son. I wouldn't do that to him. He deserves a father. He deserves to have you in his life. But it is going to be on my terms. I have to be sure that you aren't going to leave him, because you can't hurt him, Derek. You can't hurt him. He is too precious and he does not deserve to be hurt. He does not deserve to feel abandoned and I will not allow him to feel that way. So, before you decide if you want to be in his life, you need to make a decision. You need to decide if you are willing to always be there for him, because I will allow nothing less. And if you break that promise, if you break that promise, he has an entire family of people that will kick your ass," she finishes as Blaine mumbles softly in his sleep. She reaches up and brushes a stray curl out of his face.

"I'm not going anywhere," Derek says in a stern voice, a lone tear trailing its way down his face.

She turns to look at him, tears running down her own face. "Prove it," she tells him in a stern voice.

Prove it. She needs for him to prove it. She needs him to show her with actions. She needs him to prove to her that he will not hurt Blaine by leaving. She can't allow for her son to hurt like that. She can't. She can't allow for her son to feel the same abandonment that she felt. She just can't. She loves her son more than anything else in the world, and she will not sit by and watch him be hurt.

Derek plans on proving it. He has never been more determined to do anything in his life. He will prove it. He will prove to Meredith that he is here. He is here for Blaine. He is here for her. He will prove to her that he loves them. He loves them both so much. He will prove to her that they can be a family. He will prove to her that happily-ever-afters don't just happen in fairytales.


	13. Chapter 13

Derek walks into the hospital room he left only minutes before to get both him and Meredith a cup of coffee. The smile immediately forms on his face as he takes in the sight that greets him. Meredith has crawled up on the bed and Blaine is now sleeping on her chest. Her arms are wrapped protectively around him as if she is trying to protect him from the world.

A small snore escapes from Meredith and he can't fight the grin that appears on his face, lighting up his eyes. This is the way it is supposed to be. He is supposed to watch the love of his life with his son and his heart, his heart is supposed to swell with a pride so large that it almost hurts. Almost. It almost hurts because nothing in Derek Shepherd's life has ever felt so good. So perfect.

There is only one problem with the almost perfect panorama that is spread out before him. His absence. What he wouldn't give to be lying next to Meredith, both her and Blaine wrapped protectively in his arms. _He_ should be protecting both of them from the world. _He_ should be taking care of them.

Derek sits the two cups of coffee on the bedside table before sitting down in a nearby chair. He watches her. He watches the way that she scrunches her nose slightly after one of her louder snores. The way that she occasionally tightens her grip on Blaine, almost as if she is afraid he will disappear. He watches and he remembers. He remembers the scrunching of the nose and the tightening of the grip, but before, all those months ago, it was Derek that she clutched close.

He runs a hand roughly over his face as he watches Blaine rise and fall with her steady breathing. Her breath rustles his hair with each exhalation, but Blaine seems to be used to it as it does not disturb him. He isn't sure how long he watches her, all that he knows that eventually Meredith's eyes flutter open.

"Hey," she whispers in a cracked voice as her eyes meet his.

"Hey," he responds, his own voice cracked but not because of having just woken. Derek's voice cracks because the enormous amount of emotion coursing through him has placed pressure on his words, causing stress fractures every couple of syllables.

Meredith struggles to move Blaine off of her without waking him up. Derek watches with amusement as she twists and turns her body in ways he still very well remembers. Once she is standing next to the bed, she leans down and smoothes her son's hair down before placing a soft, gentle kiss on his sleeping head.

She finally looks up at Derek. "We need to talk," she whispers as she motions to the door.

Derek simply nods and follows her out into the hallway, his palms already sweaty and the lump in his throat metaphorically swelling to the size of a basketball. He wipes his palms on his jeans as Meredith turns around to face him.

"Mer," he starts, but is immediately cut off by Meredith.

"No, Dr. Shepherd. This is not about us. There is no us. Not anymore. This.." she says as she motions between the two of them, "is about that little boy, that perfect little boy, lying in there on that bed," she finishes in a harsh voice.

Derek nods. "Okay," he says in somewhat of a whisper, but it feels like a scream as it scratches his throat violently.

"Are you staying?" she asks in a low voice as she suddenly becomes intrigued by a stray thread at the hem of her shirt.

He is a bit taken aback by her question. Where else would he go? Does she think that he could leave her again? That he could leave his son?

"What?" he asks, his jaw somewhat slackened as he fiddles with a piece of lint deep within his empty jean pocket.

This time she looks up at him, her green eyes dueling viciously with his blue irises. "Are you staying? Or are you going to go back to New York?"

He can hear the hurt in her voice as the bite in her tone stings his ears. He takes a tentative step forward. Oh, how he longs to reach out and touch her. One touch. He yearns for one simple, yet perfect, touch.

He lifts his hand and begins to move it towards her, but she senses his coming touch and jerks away. He jerks his hand back and instantly places it in his pocket. He clenches his jaw once. Twice. "I'm not going anywhere," he says in a firm, passionate voice. "I'm not going anywhere unless you are."

She arches her eyebrow as she looks at him. "What do you mean?" she asks confusion echoing in her voice.

He takes another step towards her, smaller, more tentative, but it still brings him closer to her. He can almost smell her. _Almost_.

"I'm not leaving you nor Blaine. Where you guys go, I will follow," he states as if a simple fact.

The words stun Meredith, but she tries to hide that and continue with the talk that she needs to have with Derek. "Well, then." she says in an standoffish voice. "We have some things we need to discuss."

Derek nods as he watches her begin to pace the hallway, a tic that he himself possesses. Her hands begin to flail expressively as she begins to speak. "I'm not going to keep you from him, that is, if you even want to see him," she stops to look at him, seeking an answer to her unanswered question.

Derek removes a hand from his pocket and runs his hand through his hair as he looks at her with a somewhat hurt expression. "Of course I want to see him. He's my son," Derek says in a hurt voice. He begins to pace the hallway, his hand sporadically running through his hair. After a few minutes he turns to face Meredith. "Do you really think I am that horrible? Do you really think that I wouldn't want to get to know him?" He turns around and slams his palm into the concrete wall. "Damn it, Meredith! I just met him and I already love him. I.." Derek gets choked up by various emotions bubbling in his chest. Anger. Pain. Regret. Sorrow. Love. Loss.

When he turns back around to face Meredith, she can see the unshed tears in his eyes. She sighs as she runs her fingers through her long hair, another tic she shares with Derek. "I just had to be sure. I have to protect him. He…he's all I have. He's my everything…and I will do anything and everything to protect him," she says in a soft voice that overflows with love. No one can deny that Meredith Grey loves her son.

She inhales deeply before raising her head to look at him. "I'm not going to keep you away from him. He deserves a father. I want him to have a father, but…" she pauses, clenching her jaw once again, "it's on my terms. I say when and where and for how long." She says in a low voice that lets Derek know she is serious.

He sighs as he looks down at his shoes. "I'm not going to fight with you on this, Mer. You are his mother. I know that you are trying to protect him and I respect that. I will abide by your rules. I just…I just want to get to know my son." Derek's voice cracks and a lone tear travels down his face as he searches her face, begging for her to look into his eyes and see the sincerity that resides there.

Meredith finally looks up. She can see the pain. It is like looking into the mirror and seeing the pain that is daily reflected in her eyes. Just as she opens her mouth to speak, she hears the small whining of their son coming from the room. She looks at Derek and smiles weakly. "Duty calls," she says simply before walking back into Blaine's room.

Derek stands out in the hallway, unsure of his place…anywhere. He runs a suddenly tired hand over his face, sighing sadly as he does so.

"You coming?" he hears her call from within the room as Blaine emits a tiny giggle. Derek can't help but smile as this little seed of hope is planted deep within his chest. Maybe all it needs is time to grow.

**I'm not too happy with this update...but it was necessary. Meredith is willing to put aside her feelings of anger towards Derek to allow him to be a father to Blaine...that is how much she loves her son...Hope you liked it. **

**-Marci**


	14. Chapter 14

Meredith sighs as she signs her name on Blaine's discharge papers. They have only been here for four hours, but it has been an exhausting four hours. She smiles tiredly as she hands the papers back to the nurse. "Thank you," she tells the nurse, sincerity in her voice.

The nurse smiles kindly at Meredith. "Your welcome, Dr. Grey."

Meredith turns to gaze down at her slumbering son, his cheek cradled in his hand and his mouth puckered slightly as he breathes heavily. Meredith runs her fingers through his hair before looking up at Derek. His eyes are still directed towards their son.

"Thank you," she whispers, causing him to revert his gaze at her.

He cocks his eyebrow in confusion. "For what?" he asks.

"For being here," she answers as she stares into his eyes, flashes of them inflamed with passion playing through her mind.

A small smile pulls at the corner of Derek's mouth as he rests his palms on the bed, leaning forward slightly. "There is no where else I would rather be," he says softly as he cocks his head to the side.

Meredith allows herself to maintain eye contact for a few more sweet moments before shaking her head and waking herself up from the reverie that a simple look from him can cast upon her like a spell.

"I need to get him home," she says as she leans down and places a gentle kiss on his warm forehead.

Derek watches the care and attention that she gives Blaine and finds his heart swelling with pride as he watches her. "Let me drive you," he finally says when Meredith begins to lift a sleeping Blaine from the bed. He whines momentarily before burying his face in her neck.

"You don't have to do that," Meredith whispers while rubbing her hand up and down Blaine's back.

Derek takes a step forward, his hands now shoved deep in his pockets. His eyes flash brightly as he stares directly into her eyes. "I know that I don't have to, well, at least you don't think I have to, but I want to . I need to. Just.." he glances away for a moment before turning back to her," just let me do this, please?"

Meredith's mouth falls slightly agape at the desperation that seeps into Derek's voice. She nods slowly. "Okay," she whispers, feeling a slight tug at her heart as she watches Derek sigh in relief and his shoulders slump from the sudden easing of his burden.

Meredith smiles softly at Derek before reaching down to grab Blaine's blanket off of the chair. With the rain and wind, she doesn't want to expose him to the elements. Derek notices her struggle and is immediately by her side, handing her the soft, indigo blanket.

"Here you go," Derek says softly as he spreads the blanket over his sleeping son.

"Thanks," Meredith whispers before heading to the door. She stops and turns around. "Can you grab his diaper bag?" she asks with a small smile.

Derek smiles broadly and feels his heart pound with elation at the simple task Meredith asks from him. It means so much that she is asking for something. He nods eagerly before grabbing Blaine's Yankees diaper bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Yankees?" he asks as the begin walking down the hallway side by side.

Meredith looks up at him and smiles. "Yeah. New York holds some great memories for me. It was where he conceived and I figured that was where you lived, so I wanted to make sure that it had some part in his life," Meredith tells him in a quiet voice.

Derek feels the tears prick at his eyes as her words sink in. He stops and stares at her. It takes her a moment to realize that he has stopped, but once she does, she turns around and faces him. "What's wrong?" she asks with confusion in her voice.

He runs his right hand over his face, trying to dissipate the cloud of tears that are blurring his vision. "Even...even though you thought you would never see me again...even though you thought that I just didn't show up...you still wanted to make sure I was a part of his life..." Derek says in a broken voice.

Meredith takes a small step towards him and smiles at him. "It's just a diaper bag," she says.

"No. It's not. It's...it's not just a diaper bag...it's a diaper bag that is of my favorite baseball team...A team that my dad and I still go and see everytime they play the Red Sox...A team that I always dreamed of cheering for with my own son...it's not just a diaper bag...it's..." Derek trails off as he runs his hand through his hair.

Meredith takes a step forward, her tear-filled eyes now a mirror image of his. "So much more," she whispers.

Derek looks at her, his eyes softening as he realizes that she understands. "Yeah," he whispers.

Meredith looks down at the floor, deep in thought. Something occurs to her and she looks back up at Derek. "Derek?" she asks.

"Yeah?" he immediately responds.

"The Mariners are playing the Yankees next week. I know it's nothing like a Red Sox and Yankees rivalry game, but how would you like to go with Blaine and I?" She asks hesitantly.

A single tear runs down Derek's cheek as his face lights up in elation. "Really?" he asks in disbelief.

"Yeah...I mean...I know I will be there...I just...he doesn't really know you yet...so it's nothing like a father/son thing and he doesn't even know that you are his dad...but it is a step...and it is a Yankees game...and I kind of already have tickets...but you don't have to come...I mean...if you don't want to...no pressure or anything..."

Derek chuckles heartily as he takes a step forward. "I have missed your rambling," he says with a smile as he tilts his head to the side.

Meredith blushes a furious shade of crimson as she bites down on her bottom lip.

He leans forward, his hot breath lapping against her already hot skin. "And there is nothing more I would rather do than go to a game with you," he whispers as his eyes travel down to her bottom lip, still held tightly by her teeth.

"Good," Meredith finally responds, releasing her vice on her lip in the process.

"Good," Derek says giddily as they continue their movements towards the exit of the hospital. "I didn't know you were a baseball fan," he states as they walk out the doors.

She turns to face him. "There is a lot that you don't know about me, Dr. Shepherd," she says playfully.

Derek chuckles as he opens the back door of the vehicle for her. "Touche," he responds lightly as he watches her buckle Blaine into his car seat. The toddlers head immediately falls on his own shoulder as he fails to wake up while being moved.

Meredith gets into the passenger seat while Derek climbs behind the wheel. He inserts the key into the ignition, but doesn't start the vehicle immediately. "Meredith?" he says as he twists slightly in his seat to face her.

"Yeah?" she asks as she looks at him.

"I know that I don't know much about you, but...I really want to learn more...I...I want to know everything about you...and about Blaine...and I plan on doing everything I can to learn even the smallest details," he tells her seriously before turning the key in the ignition and starting the car.

He backs out of the parking spot and begins driving towards Meredith's house while simultaneously attempting to make his way into her heart once again.

**I know this took forever. I have had...well..finals...losing power...broken computer which still isn't fixed...lost flashdrive...and I still have to take a final because of the ice storm it got moved...so yeah...I hope it was worth the wait.**

**-Marci**


	15. Chapter 15

They finally arrive at Meredith's house after the quiet drive, both too deep in their own thoughts to carry on an intelligible conversation and neither daring to break the silence

They finally arrive at Meredith's house after the quiet drive, both too deep in their own thoughts to carry on an intelligible conversation and neither daring to break the silence. Derek puts the vehicle into park and then just sits back in the driver's seat, unsure of exactly what to do or say.

"Derek?" she whispers from the back seat.

He turns around and faces her. She is holding a sleeping Blaine in her arms. "Yeah?" he whispers as a small smile curves the corner of his lips. The position looks so natural for her.

"Can you help us get in?" she asks as she shifts slightly, hinting at the difficulty of her opening the car door.

Derek's smile widens as he looks at her. "Of course," he responds as he quietly gets out of the vehicle.

He opens the door for her and stares at her, waiting for her to get out, but she doesn't. "Aren't you going to get him?" she asks in a soft voice.

"What?" he asks, confused.

"Are you going to get Blaine so I can get out?" she asks again, her heart melting a little as she notices the huge smile that conquers Derek's features.

Derek takes a small, hesitant step forward, as if he is suddenly afraid of handing Blaine. As if the fact that he now knows he is his son has transformed him into a fragile piece of glass that he must handle with care.

"It's okay, Derek. You won't break him," she tells him in a soothing voice, as if she can read his fears.

She can. She can read his fears perfectly. It was the way she felt when she first laid eyes on the tiny bundle of perfection. She was terrified. She was so scared that she was going to break him, just the way she had been shattered when she had gotten older. He was perfect. No one had hurt him yet. No one had damaged him yet, and she was terrified to be the one that would.

Derek swallows the lump in his throat before reaching out and taking Blaine from Meredith. Blaine immediately wraps his arms around Derek's neck and burrows his face into his chest. For the second time that day, Meredith watches father and son together. For the second time ever, Meredith sees her son in his father's arms.

The tears involuntarily come to her eyes as she reaches back and grabs Blaine's diaper bag as Derek waits for her outside of the car. A cough rattles Blaine's tiny body as he sleeps and Derek instinctively runs his hand over his back as he tries to sooth him.

"Do you think he's okay?" Derek worriedly asks Meredith as she stands up next to him.

Meredith smiles at him. "He has the flu, Derek. He is bound to cough. He is fine," she says as she begins to walk towards the house.

Derek immediately begins to follow her, his thoughts now abound with worries. Not just about his son's health, but about everything. What all has he missed? How can he make it up? When will Blaine know him as his father? What if he falls? What is he comes down with something worse than the flu?

All of these thoughts and more cycle through Derek's brain in the time it takes for him and Meredith to get inside. She leads him up to Blaine's room, a room decked out in sports decorations.

"You can just lay him in the crib…and be sure to cover him with this," she says as she hands him a small, blue and white blanket, "if he wakes up without it, he will scream at the top of his lungs." she tells him before turning around and walking out of the room.

She knows that she told him baby steps, and this was more like a toddler step, but Blaine is asleep and it won't hurt him to allow Derek to put him to bed.

Derek gently places Blaine in the crib, pulling down his tiny shirt to cover his belly before leaning down and kissing him softly on the forehead. "Goodnight, bud. Love you already," he whispers to the sleeping child before covering him up and making his way to the door. He pauses in the doorway and turns around to get one final glimpse of his sleeping child before heading downstairs to find Meredith.

He finds her in the kitchen sitting at the bar, drinking a beer. He plops down on the stool next to her. She hands him her beer and he takes a long swig.

"Does it ever stop?" he asks as he hands the beer back to her.

"What?" she asks as she takes a drink.

"The worrying," he responds simply as he rests his elbows on the counter.

"No," she responds simply. "It never stops. You learn how to not completely flip out over everything in a major way, but the worrying never stops. I think I would be scared if it did," she says as she looks at him.

"Why?" he asks simply, intrigued to know her answer.

"Because you worry about someone if you care about them, you care about them if you love them. I never want to stop worrying because I'm afraid that then that would mean I don't care," she says, pausing to take another drink. "I can deal with the worrying."


	16. Chapter 16

Meredith and Derek sit in silence at the bar for a few minutes before she turns to him. "Would you like a beer?" she asks, needing to break the silence.

"Sure," he responds as he shrugs out of his coat and drapes it over the bar.

Meredith goes to the fridge and grabs two beers. She hands one to him before beginning to walk out of the kitchen. When she gets to the doorway, she stops and turns to him. "Are you coming?" she asks before exiting the room.

Derek slides off of the bar stool and follows her into the living room. She motions for him to sit down on the couch as she goes to the mantle of the fireplace and removes several albums from the shelf.

He can't help but chuckle as he watches her juggle the albums and the beer as she begins to make her way towards him.

"Shut up," she says as she sticks out her bottom lips, one of the albums falling to the floor as the words leave her mouth.

He chuckles again as he places his beer on a coaster on the coffee table and gets up to help her. He bends down to pick up the album at the same time as her. They pause their movements and look at each other. The outside noises cease. All that either of them can hear is the beating of their hearts. The world around them blurs, as all they can see is each other. Their movements are frozen, yet some inconceivable force seems to be pulling them towards each other. It is almost as if their hearts, the core of their bodies, have become the other's gravitational force, pulling them towards the other's earth.

The rest of the albums come crashing to the floor, several pictures spilling out, but neither of them notice as their bodies slowly move closer. The air is charged as the sky outside is illuminated by a large bolt of lighting that strikes a nearby tree. A loud clap of thunder follows, causing the windows of the house to reverberate from the sound waves.

A loud scream is heard from upstairs as their sleeping child is startled from his sleep, terrified from the loud noise that invaded his peaceful slumber.

Meredith immediately jerks back as her beer drops to the floor. She doesn't even look at Derek as she takes off running for Blaine's room. Derek picks up the dropped beer, sighing as he tries to still the shaking of his hands.

He runs his hand through his hair, still trying to calm his quaking nerves, before turning and following the route previously taken by Meredith up to Blaine's room. He can hear the small boy still crying as he climbs the stairs, Meredith's soothing voice working to calm him.

"It's okay, Blainey, mommy's here….shhh…it's okay…" she says in a soothing voice.

Derek reaches the doorway of Blaine's room. Meredith is sitting in the rocking chair, rocking Blaine as he clings desperately to her.

"Sc…sc…scaweeey," he says through the hiccups of his sobs.

"I know, baby, I know," Meredith whispers lovingly into his ear as one hands rubs circles on his back and the other continuously combs through his hair. "It scared mommy too," she tells him.

He pulls his head back and looks at her through his tear-filled eyes. "Weally?" he whispers as Meredith wipes the snot that threatens to drips onto his mouth.

Meredith nods seriously. "Wanna know a secret?" she asks him as he begins to calm down.

Blaine bites down on his bottom lip, something that instantly reminds Derek of Meredith, before he slowly nods.

"Mommy is scared of storms too," she whispers to him as she softly taps his nose.

"Weally?" Blaine asks as a small smile begins to work his way onto his tear-streaked face.

Meredith nods seriously as she pulls his shirt down over his stomach. Blaine gets excited as she answers him, the antibiotics already making him feel better.

"Bwabby tole me dat his daddy protectes him and his mommy from da storms when dey get scawed," he tells her as he wraps his arms around her neck.

She giggles at his excitement as Derek watches on, amazed at the interaction between the two and wanting nothing more than to be a part of it.

"Really?" Meredith asks her son, loving to hear him talk excitedly.

He nods seriously in response before growing quiet.

"Mommy?" he asks after a moment, his voice now quite serious.

"Yeah, baby?" she responds as she runs her fingers through his unruly hair once again.

"Does I hab a daddy?"


	17. Chapter 17

"_Does I hab a daddy?"_

Meredith's mouth falls open as the tears quickly gather in her eyes. She isn't ready for this question. Not yet.

Derek stands in the doorway, frozen at the question and anticipating her answer. He can see the pain written on her face. He knows that she isn't ready for him to be a part of their lives. Not yet. He still needs to prove himself.

He clears his throat as he takes a step into the room, Blaine's head quickly jerking in his direction.

"Dewk!" he practically screams as he jumps down from Meredith's lap and runs towards Derek.

"Hey, little buddy! You feeling better?" Derek asks as Blaine wraps his arms around his legs.

Derek chuckles as he bends down to Blaine's level. Blaine nods as he smiles at Derek. Another clap of thunder shakes the house and Blaine wraps his arms around Derek's neck, burying his face into his chest.

Derek wraps his arms around Blaine's tiny frame before picking him up. "What's wrong?" he asks Blaine.

"Scawey," Blaine whispers as he grips tightly onto Derek's sweater as hail begins to pelt against the house.

"I know it is," he tells the small boy as he looks at Meredith over the top of Blaine's head.

Meredith smiles softly at him as she grabs Blaine's blanket out of the crib. "Why don't we go downstairs and watch a movie?" she says as she walks up to Derek and runs her fingers through Blaine's messy hair.

"Nemo?" Blaine asks as he lifts his head from Derek's chest and looks at his mom.

Meredith smiles softly at him. "Anything you want, baby," she tells him as she kisses him on the forehead.

A smile breaks across Blaine's face as he rests his cheek against Derek's shoulder. "Can Dewk stay?"

Meredith glances up at Derek, granting him permission with her eyes, knowing that her son feels safe in his strong arms, just as she once did.

"I'd love to stay," he answers as they begin to walk down the stairs.

The limbs of the trees scrape against the house as the wind violently howls outside, but for the first time in a while, Meredith feels a sort of contentment. Things aren't perfect. Things are far from perfect. In fact, they are complicated as hell.

"Why don't you two sit on the couch and I'll go get us some popcorn and juice," she tells Derek as they walk into the living room and she heads into the kitchen.

She grabs one of Blaine's sippy cups and fills it with apple juice while the popcorn pops in the microwave. She can't help but think how this all feels so right, watching a movie with Blaine and Derek, together, as she dumps the popcorn into a bowl and heads back into the living room.

She pauses at the doorway into the living room as she watches Blaine and Derek interact. Blaine is standing on the couch next to Derek, explaining the movie to him in an animated voice.

"So, da feesh swims through da wader wookin for da oter feesh and der aw tuttles…"

Derek is nodding seriously as he listens attentively to his son. He has nieces and nephews so he has seen the movie dozens of times, but there is no way he is telling Blaine that. He turns and sees Meredith standing in the doorway, holding the popcorn in one hand and Blaine's cup of juice in the other. He winks at her, sending chills down her spine as she steps into the room.

"You boys ready to watch the movie?" she says as she sets the popcorn down on the coffee table.

"Yay!" Blaine says as she claps his hands together.

Meredith giggles as she puts the DVD into the player. She sits down in a chair next to the couch as she glances at Blaine now sitting in Derek's lap.

"Mommy, whys you way ova der?" he asks her as the opening credits begin to roll.

Meredith just smiles in response before getting up and moving to the couch. Before she knows it, she is lying down, fast asleep in the arms of Derek along with her son, sleeping better than she has in ages.


	18. Chapter 18

Meredith is jolted awake as a peal of thunder steals her from her peaceful slumber. Darkness surrounds her, the only light coming from the tiny fish dancing across the darkened television screen.

It takes her a moment to remember where she is. It takes her an additional moment to realize whose arm is draped over her, whose heartbeat she hears beating under her ear, whose chest is rising and falling underneath her.

She raises her head slightly up, glancing at Derek's slumbering face. That is when she notices Blaine is next to her, Derek's other arm protectively holding him near. She could get up. She should get up, but she doesn't seem to be able to move. She is physically capable, but mentally unable to separate herself from her picturesque family in this moment.

Another peal of thunder resounds and she notices Derek's eyes flutter open. She quickly squeezes hers closed, not wanting him to catch her watching. She can feel and hear his breathing grow shallower as he wakens fully.

He chuckles as he runs his hand up her back. "I know you're awake," he whispers into the darkness.

She opens her eyes only to meet his staring down at her. He can feel her shiver in his arms, a shiver not from the cold, but from the intensity of his gaze.

"You cold?' he whispers into the night.

Meredith just nods as he pulls her body closer to his. "I don't like storms," she whispers as another clap of thunder sounds, causing her to jump.

She can feel his chest reverberate from his restrained chuckle.

"It's not funny," she whispers vehemently as she glares at him.

His eyes soften as his hand settles on her lower back. Even through the darkness she can see him tilt his head to the side. "I know it's not funny. It's…endearing," he whispers.

He can feel her body tense up as he whispers the last word. They remain silent, the violent sounds of the storm echoing throughout the otherwise quiet room. He feels her start to sit up.

"Where are you going?" he asks, lightning lighting up the room and giving him a glance of her tussled hair and disheveled clothing.

"Bathroom," she whispers quickly before disappearing down the hallway.

She returns a few minutes later to find Derek pacing the floor, Blaine in his arms. He stops when he sees her.

"He started to stir a bit, I just thought this might calm him…" he tells her a little nervously as he runs his hand in circles on Blaine's back.

Meredith smiles at him. "You're right. It does calm him. I think it might be because I am a pacer…so when I was pregnant…I was always pacing…" she tells him as she sits down on the couch.

Derek stills his movements and looks at her. "You know…I want to know all about it…the foods you craved…the rants you went off on…the way your back ached and your ankles swelled…I want to know it all…I…I…I really hate that I missed it…" he tells her in a strained voice, and she can tell that he is trying not to cry.

Meredith sighs as she looks at him, his movements resumed. She lies down on the couch, her head resting on the arm. "Oranges," she whispers.

He stops again. "What?" he asks a bit confused.

"I craved oranges. All the time. Anything with oranges. Orange juice, fresh oranges, orange jelly beans, orange flavored chocolate…For about a month…that was all I wanted…then…after that it was Mexican food…everyone really hated me for that one," she says with a giggle.

She can hear him chuckle as his feet fall softly on the floor. That is when she notices he is in his socks. She stifles a yawn as she sits back up.

"It's getting really late," she says as she glances at the clock.

He nods. "It is," he responds, not ready to go.

She stands up and watches him, seeing the desire to stay. "It's horrible outside…why don't you just stay in the guest room?" she asks, a bit of nervousness in her voice.

"I don't want to intrude…" he begins as his heart leaps in his chest.

"Derek, you are not intruding…the weather is horrible…and…well…I would hate for Blaine to wake up and wonder where you have gone," she interrupts, leaving out how much she wants him to stay.

He smiles as he looks down at his son, in his arms. "If you insist…"

"I do. I do insist," she says as she nods.

Meredith turns and begins to walk towards the stairs, her heart racing at the thought of spending the night under the same roof as Derek.

**Please review! :D**


	19. Chapter 19

Meredith wakes up as the sun streams brightly through her window and into her face. She squints against the sudden attack on her retinas before rolling over to her other side. The previous day's events are still blurry as she pulls the blanket up over her head, not yet ready to face the day ahead of her.

The sound of giggling drifting up to her room from downstairs finally causes her to sit up in the bed. She strains to hear the noises more clearly, and that is when she is able to determine that it is Derek and Blaine laughing. Curiosity gets the best of her as she throws the covers off of her body and climbs out of bed.

She tip toes down the creaky old stairs, not wanting to alert them to her presence. She can see them in the living room as she reaches the third stair from the bottom. They are both sitting in the floor, bowls of cereal in front of them, as they watch cartoons on the television.

It stuns her how similar they both look from behind, their identical dark, untamed curls staring at her. She can see Blaine's tiny feet moving back and forth in excitement as he sits next to Derek, a sign of his complete contentment.

Meredith takes a deep breath as she readies herself to intrude into the scene in front of her. She doesn't want to disturb them, but she needs to give Blaine his medicine.

"Hey guys," she says as cheerfully as she can as she finishes walking down the stairs.

Both head simultaneously turn to her and their smiles form in sync.

"Mommy!" Blaine yells as he jumps up and runs to Meredith. He jumps into her arms and she can't help but laugh at his excitement.

She ruffles his hair. "Good morning, Blaney. I hope you are being a good boy for Derek…" she says as she ventures a glance at Derek.

He is now standing up and leaning against the doorframe of the sitting room.

"Me an Dewk watchin toons!" he says excitedly as he wiggles free from Meredith's arms and runs back into the living. He plops back down on the floor with a thud, the way only a child can seem to accomplish.

Meredith giggles as she watches him. He is so carefree. She finally looks at Derek. "Thanks," she says as she begins to walk into the kitchen.

He follows her. "For what?" he asks, somewhat confused.

"For watching him this morning," she answers as she pulls out a box of cold pizza and begins to eat a slice.

His mouth falls agape as he watches her consume her favorite breakfast.

"What?" she asks with a full mouth.

He shakes his head. "First of all, you don't need to thank me for watching him. I should thank you for letting me spend time with him. And secondly, cold pizza?"

She shrugs. "I like it."

"Seriously?" he asks in disbelief.

"Seriously," she responds with a nod of the head. "Plus, the last time I tried to cook pancakes, the kitchen became a disaster area," she adds with a blush.

He walks further into the kitchen with a smirk on his face. "Ah, so you don't know how to cook."

"I know how to cook," she says in a defiant voice, "it's just that what I cook isn't edible."

He chuckles as he shakes his head. "Let me cook for you tonight," he asks in a serious voice as he tilts his head to the side and smiles dreamily.

She narrows her eyes at him, but before she can say no, Blaine comes running into the kitchen and crashes into her legs.

"Mommy!" he says with a laugh.

Meredith giggles as she bends down and scoops the toddler up into her arms. "What is it, honey?" she asks as she kisses him softly on his hair.

"Can Dewk stay an pway twain wit me?" he asks with the Shepherd signature smile.

Meredith looks at Derek over Blaine's head. "I'm sure Derek is busy today, Blaine."

Derek clears his throat. "Actually, I have the day off and I would love to stay if that is alright with you, of course," he says with a smile.

Blaine claps his hands together as he tries to wiggle out of Meredith's arms. "Yay!" he shouts as she puts him down. He immediately runs to Derek and begins to pull on his arm, attempting to drag him to his play room next to the living room.

Derek stares at Meredith, seeking her permission. She smiles softly at him before nodding and watching the two disappear amidst a flourish of giggles and somewhere she knows that everything will be okay.


	20. Chapter 20

Meredith glances at her pager as she walks down the hallway of Seattle Grace. She is on her way to assist Derek in a surgery. This will be the first time she has assisted him. She has watched him work. He has watched her work. But today will be the first time they have ever worked together.

It has been exactly two weeks since she sat down at the table with her new boss. Two weeks since she had sat down with Derek. Two weeks since he learned that he was a father. Two weeks since he came flying back into her life with a cape like Super Dad.

He had come to the family dinner that Friday after he showed up. He had been to her house practically every day to play with Blaine. He had fallen into the role so easily. Things had been going so smoothly, yet she still couldn't forget that he didn't show.

She sighs as she pulls her hair up into a messy ponytail as she steps into the scrub room. Derek is at the sink and looks up and smiles at her. "Hey," he says with a smile.

"Hey," she responds as she begins to scrub in.

"You ready?" he asks as the nurse hands him a towel to dry his hands.

"I'm always ready," she responds with a small smirk as she follows him into the OR.

"It's a beautiful day to save lives. Let's have some fun," he says in an upbeat voice before nodding to a nurse to start the music. He smiles one more time at her before they start the surgery.

--

Meredith runs her hands under the warm water as she scrubs out, the surgery with Derek having gone off without a hitch.

"You did good in there," he tells her as he takes his place next to her at the sink.

She looks up at him and smiles. "Thanks. So did you."

"Thanks," he tells her with a smile as he finishes scrubbing out. He leans back against the sink as he watches her dry her hands with a paper towel. "I was thinking," he begins.

"Yeah?" she asks as she throws the paper towel in the trash and looks at him.

"I was thinking that maybe I could take you and Blaine out to dinner tonight," he says as he tilts his head to the side.

She smiles an apology as she sighs. "I'm sorry. We can't. We already have plans," she says. She can see the disappointment immediately as his shoulders slump.

"Another time then," he says somewhat sadly as he pushes himself away from the sink. He begins to walk out of the scrub room to go talk to the patient's family.

"Wait," Meredith says nervously as she takes a step forward.

Derek stops in the doorway and turns to look at her.

She chews on her bottom lip. "We…we are having dinner with the Chief and his wife tonight…and if it's okay with the Chief…and I'm sure it will be…and if you want…you don't have to…but you can come with us…that is if you want," she tells him as she blushes.

Derek chuckles as he steps back into the scrub room. "You're rambling," he says with a smile and a tilt of the head to the left.

"Sorry," she mutters as the color in her cheeks intensifies.

"Don't be. I think it's cute," he says as he takes another step towards her.

"Right," she says in a whisper, "so…do you want me to ask the Chief?" she asks, suddenly finding herself in close proximity with Derek in the small room.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" he asks in a soft voice.

She smiles at him. "Of course not. You said you wanted to get to know us, and the Chief and Adele, they are family. So…"

"I would love to come to dinner with you and Blaine tonight," he tells her with a smile as he reaches up and brushes a stray strand of hair out of her face. "That is, if the Chief doesn't mind," he whispers as his finger trails down her jaw line.

"Good," she whispers as she instinctively licks her lips.

"Good," he repeats as he slowly begins to lean in.

Just as the space between them begins to diminish, Meredith pulls back. "I can't. I'm sorry," she tells him as a panicked look fills her eyes.

Derek sighs as he runs a hand through his hair. "It's okay," he says in frustration as he turns back to the door. He stops as he leans forward and rests his palm against the door. "Can I ask why? I mean, why you aren't willing to give me another chance?"

She sighs as she tries to suppress the building tears. "I…I can't risk it," she whispers.

"Risk what?" he asks as he turns around to face her.

"Being hurt again."

"Mer," he whispers hoarsely as he takes a step towards her.

She shakes her head and holds up her hand, stopping him. "No. You don't get to do this to me. I waited. I waited and you didn't show," she says as a single tear trails down her face.

He takes a step forward and places his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me, Meredith. I tried. I tried to show. I tried like hell, but I was in an accident and by the time I got to the airport, you were gone," he says quickly so that she doesn't stop him.

She blinks once. Twice. "Wait," she says slowly. "You tried to meet me?" she asks slowly.

He nods as he watches her closely.

"But…you were in an accident?" she asks as things finally begin to click.

He nods again.

"Oh God," she groans before her eyes widen. "Were you hurt?" she asks concerned.

He shakes his head. "It was just a fender bender, but it took a while to get things sorted out. Just so happens I was rear ended by a cop who feel the need to get everything right. I even offered to pay for my own damages, but he insisted we do everything by the book," he says with a strained chuckle.

"You…you tried to show…you…you really tried…so it wasn't because you didn't want to try…you wanted to try…and I…I have been all alone for twenty-seven months…I…our son…and…you tried," she mutters as her bottom lip begins to tremble.

Derek notices the impending breakdown so he closes the distance between them and wraps his arms around her. She allows her head to rest against his chest. They remain in this position for several moments before she suddenly begins to hit him in the chest.

"Ow! What are you doing?" he asks as he tries to grab her fists.

"Why…didn't…you…tell…me…sooner?!" she yells at him in between attacks.

He finally manages to grab her wrists and still her movements. "I tried," he says sincerely, "but you didn't want to hear it."

Her hands fall limply at her sides as she stares at him. She needs to think. "Dinner is at seven," she mutters before quickly walking out of the scrub room, leaving Derek to stare where she was just standing somewhat dumbstruck.

As he walks out to inform the family of the success of the surgery, he mumbles "women," under his breath, but he can't help but smile through all of his frustration. Maybe they will finally be able to start moving forward into the future since he has cleared up the errors of the past.

**I don't really like this update...but the movement was necessary and Meredith needed to hear why Derek didn't show. I hope you liked it. **

**-Marci**


	21. Chapter 21

He tried to show. He tried to show but was in an accident. He really did care about her. He tried to show. She can't seem to wrap her head around the idea. For the past twenty-seven months she has been telling herself that he just didn't care, but he did. He did care. He wanted to try. He wanted to try but he didn't get there in time.

She nervously tugs on the hem of her sweater. She has fifteen minutes until he gets here. She has had all day to think about what he said, but she only has fifteen more minutes until he arrives. She isn't exactly sure why she is nervous. She has been spending time with him since he walked by into her life, into her and Blaine's lives.

"Momma?" a soft voice asks from the doorway.

Meredith smiles as she turns to face her son. "Yes, sweetie?" she says softly as she kneels down.

"Is Dewk gowna come pway wit me?" he asks as he sticks out his bottom lip.

Meredith laughs as she reaches out and ruffles his curly hair. "Do you want Derek to come and play with you?"

Blaine nods eagerly. "Uh huh. I wike Derk," he says enthusiastically.

"Do you now?" Meredith asks with a smile as her heart beats rapidly in her chest.

He nods again as he steps forward and puts his tiny hands on her face. "Momma?" he asks again as he stares at her.

"Yeah?"

"Can I wub Dewk?"

Meredith gasps as she stares at her son. Her eyes begin to tear up. "You love Derek?" she asks in a broken voice.

He nods. "Is dat okway?" he asks.

"Of course it is," Meredith says as she envelops her son in a hug. Just as Blaine wraps his arms around Meredith's neck, the doorbell rings.

Blaine jumps back. "Dewk!" he shouts excitedly as he tears away from her and begins to run towards the front door.

"Don't run!" Meredith calls after him just as he reaches the stairs.

Blaine skids to a stop as he slowly begins to make his way down the stairs. When he reaches the landing, he rushes to the door and opens it. "Dewk!" he shouts happily as he sees Derek standing in front of the door.

"Hey, buddy!" Derek says with a smile as he steps inside. "Hello, Meredith," he tells Meredith as she makes her way down the stairs.

"Hello, Derek," she responds with a nervous smile.

"Dewk! Guess what?!" Blaine asks excitedly as he tugs on the bottom of Derek's sweater.

Derek chuckles as he kneels down to Blaine's level. "What?"

"Momma say s'okay dat I wub you!" he says excitedly as he claps his hands together.

Derek blinks rapidly as his eyes fill with tears. "Did she now?" he asks in a strained voice.

"Yup," Blaine says as he nods enthusiastically.

"I love you too," Derek almost whispers as he pulls Blaine into his arms and hugs him. He looks at Meredith over Blaine's dark curls and sees that the tears in his eyes are reflected in hers. "Thank you," he mouths.

Meredith smiles softly and nods. "Are you boys hungry?" Meredith asks as reaches them.

Blaine pulls back and rubs his stomach. "I'm tarvin!" he exclaims with a giggle.

Meredith laughs as she reaches forward and rubs his stomach, her hand brushing briefly against Derek's, sending chills down both of their spines. "Are you now?"

"Uh huh," he answer, "my tomach's gwolin!"

"Is it now? Well, maybe I will just have to listen," Meredith says as she places her ear on Blaine's stomach. She can feel Derek's hand lingering on her lower back and it feels like it belongs there. "Wow! Your stomach is really hungry!" Meredith says dramatically as she kisses Blaine on the forehead.

"Siwwy mommy! I towd you!" he says laughing.

"Yes, very silly mommy," Derek says with a chuckle.

Meredith laughs as she watches Blaine wiggle out of Derek's grasp. He pulls on Derek's hand. "Come on, Dewk! Mommy made pasgetti!" he says as he drags Derek into the kitchen, all three of them laughing.

Meredith places the dinner on the table before all three sit down, Blaine in his high chair between Meredith and Derek. Derek watches as Meredith cuts up Blaine's noodles before giving him his plate. When she finishes, he looks at her across the table and winks. She blushes before looking down at her food.

"So," Derek begins, "there is a high profile case coming in tomorrow, and I was wondering if you would like to assist me?"

Meredith drops her fork before looking up at him. "Seriously?" she asks with a smile.

"Seriously," he responds with a chuckle.

"You know," she says with a smirk, "you are my boss, you don't have to ask. I technically have to do whatever you say."

Derek smiles at her. "When you say whatever I say…"

Meredith gasps. "Derek Shepherd! We will not talk about S-E-X at the table in front of our son!"

Derek chuckles, his laughter reaching his eyes. She just referred to Blaine as their son in front of him. "And why would you think I was talking about…that?" he asks with arched brow.

Meredith narrows her eyes as she points her fork at him. "It was your tone."

"My tone?" Derek asks amused.

"Uh oh," Blaine says as he drops his plate on the floor. "I sowwy mommy," he whimpers as the tears start to form in his eyes.

Meredith stands up and takes Blaine out of his high chair. "It's okay, baby. Mommy will clean it up. Did you get full?" she asks.

Blaine nods as he leans his head on Meredith's shoulder. His face is covered in spaghetti, but it doesn't bother Meredith.

"I'll clean up the kitchen if you want to go ahead and give him his bath," Derek says as he stands up and begins to clear the table.

Meredith watches him for a minute. "Why don't you give him a bath and I will clean up the kitchen?" she asks with a soft smile.

Derek stops and stares at her, a smile tugging at his mouth. "Seriously?"

Meredith giggles as she nods. "Seriously. He likes to splash and his bath toys are in the bin next to the bath tub. If you need anything, you can just yell."

Derek smiles as she hands Blaine to him. "Thanks," he tells her sincerely.

"You're welcome," she responds before beginning to clean up the kitchen.

For the first time that she can remember, Meredith finds herself feeling like she is a part of a family. All because he tried to show up. He tried to show up and now she is willing to try and give him a second chance. She is going to try.


	22. Chapter 22

Derek walks down the stairs thirty minutes later, his shirt soaked and a huge smile plastered on his face. Meredith can't help but giggle at his appearance.

"Have fun?" she asks with a smile as he sits down on the couch next to her.

"A blast," he beams.

She looks around, noticing the absence of Blaine. "Where's Blaine?"

Derek chuckles as he shakes his head. "He fell asleep while I was dressing him."

Meredith giggles. "I knew he was tired when he cried at the table."

Derek chuckles as he smirks at Meredith. "I do know one thing he definitely gets from his mother…"

Meredith arches her eyebrow as she stares at him. "Oh yeah? And what is that?"

"I don't think I've ever heard a kid saw logs as loudly as him," he says with a laugh.

Meredith's mouth falls agape as she reaches out and slaps him on the shoulder. "I do not snore!"

"Oh, yes, you do," Derek says as his laughter grows.

She narrows her eyes at him. "Whatever."

He chuckles as he watches her blush grow. "And now you're blushing," he teases as he bumps his shoulder against hers.

"Shut up," she mutters as she stands up. "I'm going to get a beer. Want one?"

He smiles at her. She isn't asking him to leave since Blaine is asleep. "Sure."

Meredith walks into the kitchen and grabs two beers out of the fridge. She turns around and leans her back against the fridge. Her shoulder feels like it is on fire just from his simple touch. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She can do this. She can. She can hang out with him. She takes one more deep breath before she walks back into the living room.

She stares at him for a moment, taking in his posture as he lounges on the couch. He seems comfortable as he runs his hand along his thigh. He looks up at her, catching her staring, and smiles. She blushes furiously as she walks towards him.

"Here," she says as she thrusts the beer into his hand.

"Thanks," he says with a warm smile before taking a sip of the beer.

Meredith sits down on the opposite end of the couch, curling her feet underneath her body before taking a long swig.

"So…" Derek begins.

"So…" Meredith echoes as she turns to face him.

Derek sighs before he sits the beer down on the coffee table. He turns to face her. "What do we do now?" he asks as he begins to move closer to her.

"What do you mean?" Meredith asks as her eyes travel to his lips and she instinctively licks her own.

"What I mean," he says as he places his hand on the arm rest behind her body, "is what do we do now," he repeats as his eyes travel to her lips.

"I…" Meredith breathes as she feels his warm breath on her face. She stares into his deep blue eyes, eyes that have haunted her for so long, eyes that she sees everyday in her son. Her breath catches in her throat as she drops her beer and it loudly hits the floor. Before she knows what is happening, she is pressing her chest against his and tangling her fingers in his hair. He responds immediately by wrapping his arms around her body and pulling her closer. She takes a moment to look into his eyes before her lips descend upon his.

They both groan at the long-awaited contact as Derek's hands move from around her waist to her hair. His lips mesh against hers, melding together as the lines between their separate identities begin to blur. Derek pulls slightly back so that he can run his tongue along her bottom lip, tasting her cherry chapstick, before brushing past her lips and grazing her teeth. Meredith grants his silent request, allowing Derek's tongue to enter the dark, moist caverns of her mouth.

Meredith's fingers move to the curls as the back of his neck as she moves to straddle him. His hands move from her hair to her hips, pulling her body closer to his. They aren't sure how long the kiss lasts and it stops only when the need for oxygen forces them apart.

Derek rests his forehead against Meredith's as their hot breath mingles in the short expanse that exists between them. Their eyes are closed as they relish in the sensations coursing through their bodies.

"That…was…" Meredith manages between pants.

"Amazing," Derek finishes as his hands begin to rub up and down Meredith's back.

"Yeah," she breathes as she opens her eyes, meeting Derek's bright blues.

"Hmm," he murmurs as he lifts up and places a soft kiss on her forehead. "What now?" he asks after a few minutes of silence.

Meredith ponders the question for a few minutes. "We date," she answers with a small smile.

"Date?" Derek asks with a smirk.

"Yeah. You know, you ask me out and take me to eat steak and big baskets of carbs. You romance me while I swoon over you. We make out like teenagers during movies. Date," she says as she pulls back and smiles at him, her arms wrapped around his neck.

Derek chuckles as his eyes twinkle in happiness. "Meredith?" he says after a minute.

"Yeah?"

"Will you do me the great pleasure of accompanying me to dinner and a movie tomorrow night?" he asks with a huge smile.

Meredith giggles. "Will there be carbs?" she asks with a small smile.

"Of course," he answers simply.

"Then I would love to go out to dinner and a movie with you tomorrow night," she says as she leans forward and places a quick kiss on his lips.

Meredith is done living in the past as she continues to grow even more excited about the future. A future with Blaine. A future with Derek. A future with a family.


	23. Chapter 23

Meredith tugs nervously at the bottom of her red sweater as she stares at her reflection in the mirror. Her make-up is light and her hair is falling free about her shoulders. Tonight is her date with Derek. Tonight is the first night of their future together. Tonight is everything.

"Momma wook pwetty," Blaine says with a giggle as he runs to Meredith.

Meredith can't help but smile as she bends down and envelops him in a hug. "Thanks, baby," she tells him as she kisses him on the head.

"You do look nice," Izzie says from the doorway to her bedroom.

"Thanks again for watching him tonight," Meredith says as she stands up.

"No problem," Izzie says with a smile as she walks into the room and picks Blaine up. "We are going to have a blast. Aren't we, buddy?"

Blaine nods as he claps his hands together. "We make bwonies!" he says excitedly.

Meredith giggles as she rolls her eyes. "Just don't let him eat too much batter. He will be bouncing off the wall all night."

Just as Izzie opens her mouth to say something, the doorbell rings. Meredith's eyes widen. "I'm not ready yet," she says somewhat panicked.

"You look great," Izzie says somewhat confused.

"Please, Izz," Meredith begs as she shuffles around her room looking for her necklace and her shoes.

"Fine," Izzie mutters as she rolls her eyes before turning around and walking down the stairs to answer the door.

Izzie jerks the door open. "She's not ready yet," she says with an exaggerated sigh.

Derek chuckles as Blaine wiggles free from Izzie's arms and runs over to him. "I figured. Isn't it some rule that you have to make the guy wait at least a couple of minutes?"

Izzie arches her brow. "How do you know that?"

Derek shrugs. "Four sisters."

"Ah," she says with a nod. "Do they know about?" she says as she motions to Blaine.

Derek shakes his head. "I was actually planning to talk to Mer about that tonight. I want to tell them, but only if she is ready…because my mom will probably be on the first flight out."

"I'm ready," Meredith says from the stairs just as Izzie opens her mouth to speak.

Derek smiles up at her. "You look stunning," he says as his eyes twinkle.

Meredith giggles. "I'm wearing a sweater."

Derek shrugs. "A sweater which you make look dam..darn good," he corrects himself.

Meredith rolls her eyes as she reaches the landing. "You don't look so bad yourself," she says as she takes in his dark blue jeans and red sweater with collared shirt underneath.

Derek chuckles as he leans in and places a quick kiss on her cheek. "I know. I look hot."

"So modest," she mutters as she takes Blaine from Derek and kisses him on the cheek. "Momma will be back later. You be good for Izzie okay?"

Blaine nods. "We go for cweam morrow?" he asks with a huge smile.

Meredith can't help but laugh at Blaine's bartering ability. "If Izzie says you are a little angel, then yes, we will go for ice cream tomorrow."

"Daddy come?" he asks as he looks at Derek.

Meredith gasps as her mouth falls open. Tears instantly spring to her eyes and as she looks at Derek, she sees his are filled with tears as well. As both fail to answer him, Blaine nudges Meredith with his elbow.

She clears her throat as Derek nods. "Yes, Blainey, Daddy can come," she manages in a strained voice.

Blaine claps his hands together. "Yay! I be good!" he yells as he reaches his arms out to Izzie, hoping to show his parents just how good he will be.

Izzie smiles softly at Meredith before taking Blaine. "You two have fun," she says as Derek helps Meredith with her coat.

"We will," Derek says with a smile over Meredith's head.

"Bye Mommy! Bye Daddy!" Blaine waves excitedly as the pair open the door.

"Bye, baby," Meredith says warmly.

"Bye, Blainester," Derek calls as he places his hand on Meredith's lower back and leads her out of the door.

He doesn't say anything as he opens the passenger side door for her. He doesn't say a word until he has both of his hands on the steering wheel. Then he turns to Meredith, tears once again present in his twinkling eyes and what appears to be a huge, permanent smile plastered on his face. "He called me daddy," he whispers.

Meredith smiles as she nods, a tear trailing down her face. "He did," she responds quietly.

"You didn't even have to tell him. He knew," he says in a strained, awestruck voice.

Meredith's smile grows as she nods again. "He did."

"I'm his daddy," he says with a choked laugh.

Meredith places her hand over his. "You are."

As Derek starts the car and backs out of the driveway, Meredith and Derek can't help but feel as if the once gelatinous constitution of their family is beginning to solidify.


	24. Chapter 24

"Daddy! Daddy!" Blaine yells, giggling as he runs into the living room and throws himself on Derek's lap, a giggling Meredith trailing behind.

"I'm going to get you," Meredith giggles as she tries to grab Blaine as he wraps his arms around Derek's neck.

"Sab me, Daddy!" he giggles as he buries his face in Derek's neck.

Derek chuckles as he winks at Meredith. "How about we get mommy. Together," Derek whispers into Blaine's ear.

Blaine pulls back slightly, a huge smile gracing his face. Three months ago he didn't know his daddy. He was happy, but now he has his daddy.

Derek winks at Blaine again before reaching out and grabbing one of Meredith's arms. She screams as he pulls her to the couch. "Derek! What are you doing?"

"Get her," he tells Blaine. Blaine lets go of Derek and jumps on Meredith. He begins to tickle her as Derek holds her down.

"Stop! Please!" she shouts through her laughter.

Derek chuckles as he leans down and whispers in her ear. "Say the magic word," his husky voice reverberates against her eardrum.

"I did!" she cries hoarsely.

"Not please. Say yes," he says as he pulls back and looks at her, his eyes twinkling with happiness.

Meredith wrinkles her brow in confusion as she stares at him. She doesn't even notice that they have stopped tickling her.

"What was the question?" she asks somewhat breathily.

Derek's smile broadens as he glances at Blaine. He has never felt so fulfilled in his life. He leans back down as he reaches into his pocket. He brushes his lips softly and slowly across hers.

"Marry me," he murmurs against her lips as he can feel his heart pounding against his chest wall.

Meredith's eyes widen as they quickly fill with tears. "Seriously?" she asks hoarsely.

Derek chuckles as he nods as opens the velvet box she didn't notice he was holding. "Seriously," he nods.

They sit in silence for several moments as Meredith stares at him in awe. "Mer?" he finally asks after a few minutes as he begins to worry.

Suddenly, a smile forms on Meredith's lips. "Yes," she whispers.

"Yes?" he asks in a choked voice as he leans down and kisses her quickly.

She wraps her arms around his neck as she nods. "Yes," she answers louder.

Derek chuckles as he buries his nose in her hair. "I love you…so much," he mumbles.

"I love you too…so much," she responds without hesitation.

As the two resolve into a fit of happy laughter, Blaine squeezes in between them, hugging them both and solidifying their bond that neither time nor distance could dissolve. Thirty months ago, they were strangers. Thirty months ago, they were almost lovers. Now, they are more than lovers. They are family.

_Fin._

**So...that's it. The end. I hope you all liked it and I would like to thank you all for reading. It took me longer than I would have liked to get this update up...but life is insane. This story was all about them finding each other again...and they did...they found each other and more. I have left the ending open for a sequel...as I do for most of my fics...but I am not promising one...and if there ever is one...it will only be after I have completed all the ones I have now...so once again...thank you all for reading. It has been a pleasure to write. **

**-Marci**


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